bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Evaluating the scope and intensity of the conflict trap
Authors: Hegre Håvard , Nygård Håvard Mokleiv , Ræder Ranveig Flaten
Published: February 2017

Several studies show that internal armed conflict breeds conflict by exacerbating conditions that increase the chances of war breaking out again. Empirically, this ‘conflict trap’ works through four pathways: conflicts increase the likelihood of continuation, recurrence, escalation, and diffusion of conflict. Past empirical studies have underestimated the scope and intensity of the conflict trap since they consider the impact of conflict only through one of these pathways and rarely across sufficiently long time periods. This article shows that simulation and forecasting techniques are useful and indeed necessary to quantify the total, aggregated effect of the conflict trap, over long time periods and across countries. We develop a country-year statistical model that allows estimating the probability of no conflict, minor conflict, and major conflict, and the probabilities of transition between these states. A set of variables denoting the immediate and more distant conflict history of the country are used as endogenous predictors in the simulated forecasts. Another set of variables shown to be robustly associated with armed conflict are treated as exogenous predictors. We show that the conflict trap is even more severe than earlier studies have indicated. For instance, if a large low-income country with no previous conflicts is simulated to have two to three years of conflict over the 2015–18 period, we find that it will have nine more years of conflict over the 2019–40 period than if peace holds up to 2018. Conversely, if a large low-income country that has had major conflict with more than 1,000 battle-related deaths in several of the past ten years succeeds in containing violence to minor conflict over the 2015–18 period, we find that it will experience five fewer years of conflict in the subsequent 20 years than if violence continues unabated.
Introduction
Authors: Hegre Håvard , Metternich Nils W , Nygård Håvard Mokleiv , Wucherpfennig Julian
Published: February 2017

Prediction and forecasting have now fully reached peace and conflict research. We define forecasting as predictions about unrealized outcomes given model estimates from realized data, and predictions more generally as the assignment of probability distributions to realized or unrealized outcomes. Increasingly, scholars present within- and out-of-sample prediction results in their publications and sometimes even forecasts for unrealized, future outcomes. The articles in this special issue demonstrate the ability of current approaches to forecast events of interest and contributes to the formulation of best practices for forecasting within peace research. We highlight the role of forecasting for theory evaluation and as a bridge between academics and policymakers, summarize the contributions in the special issue, and provide some thoughts on how research on forecasting in peace research should proceed. We suggest some best practices, noting the importance of theory development, interpretability of models, replicability of results, and data collection.
The Influence of Inequality on Welfare Generosity
Authors: Scruggs Lyle , Hayes Thomas J.
Published: February 2017

This article examines the relationship between income concentration and policy outputs that determine the generosity of two major state-level safety net programs: unemployment insurance and cash social assistance. Using a difference in differences framework, it tests the degree to which the top 1 percent share is associated with benefit replacement rates for these programs during the period 1978–2010. The results suggest that higher state income inequality lowers those states’ welfare benefits significantly in ways consistent with a “plutocracy” hypothesis that has been suggested in work by scholars such as Bartels, Bonica, Gilens, and Page. The results are robust to controls for several alternative explanations for benefit generosity, including citizen ideology, party control of government, fiscal pressure on programs, state racial heterogeneity, and public opinion liberalism. The results thus support the notion that growing income concentration at the very top undermines social protection policies.
Land Institutions and Chinese Political Economy
Authors: Rithmire Meg Elizabeth
Published: February 2017

This article critically examines the origins and evolution of China’s unique land institutions and situates land policy in the larger context of China’s reforms and pursuit of economic growth. It argues that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has strengthened the institutions that permit land expropriation—namely, urban/rural dualism, decentralized land ownership, and hierarchical land management—in order to use land as a key instrument of macroeconomic regulation, helping the CCP respond to domestic and international economic trends and manage expansion and contraction. Key episodes of macroeconomic policymaking are analyzed, with the use of local and central documents, to show how the CCP relied on the manipulation and distribution of the national land supply either to stimulate economic growth or to rein in an overheating economy. China’s land institutions, therefore, share “complementarities” with fiscal and financial institutions and benefit powerful political actors while imposing costs on marginal ones.
Misconceptions and Malpractices Toward Antibiotic Use in Childhood Upper Respiratory Tract Infections Among a Cohort of Lebanese Parents
Authors: El Khoury Ghada , Ramia Elsy , Salameh Pascale
Published: February 2017

Antimicrobial resistance is an emerging global health threat. Misuse and abuse of antibiotics are of particular concern in the pediatric population. Since management of childhood illnesses depends considerably on parents’ perceptions, the objectives of this study were to report parents’ perspectives and assess their practices toward antibiotics used for upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) in children. Using a cross-sectional design, anonymous structured questionnaires were completed by 1,037 parents in public and private schools across Lebanon’s largest governorate. Descriptive statistics were used to report participants’ responses. A multivariate analysis was performed to identify factors affecting knowledge and malpractice related to antibiotic use. Significant misconceptions and malpractices were identified among parents. For instance, 33.9% of parents considered that antibiotics are helpful in treating common cold among children and 36.2% believed antibiotics expedite the recovery of their child with common cold infection. Moreover, there was a lack of knowledge concerning antibiotic coverage, since 37.9% of the respondents believed that antibiotics treat viral infections and 21.5% were neutral toward this question. Around 20% of the participants believed they can reduce the dose of antibiotics if the child gets better. Significant factors associated with poor knowledge and misuses were parents’ lower educational and socioeconomic levels. Despite extensive evidence on the limited role of antibiotics in URTIs, parents in Lebanon continue to misuse them. More concerted efforts are needed to improve parents’ knowledge and practices with regard to the rational use of antibiotics.
Understanding personality development
Authors: Geukes Katharina , van Zalk Maarten , Back Mitja D.
Published: February 2017

While personality is relatively stable over time, it is also subject to change across the entire lifespan. On a macro-analytical level, empirical research has identified patterns of normative and differential development that are affected by biological and environmental factors, specific life events, and social role investments. On a micro-analytical level, however, little is known about the underlying processes driving personality development. We provide an integrative state process model of personality development that incorporates and builds on previous process approaches to personality. It integrates this micro-analytical state perspective into the well-established macro-analytical understanding of personality trait development. Specifically, we distinguish three domains of individual differences in (the level of and contingencies between) state processes: (1) Goals and Strategies, (2) Actions and Experiences, and (3) Evaluations and Reflections. These process domains build a continuous sequence, with each domain guiding state processes in the next. Each process domain itself and their dependencies within the succession may be subject to change, thereby reflecting normative (in the case of shared development in state processes) and/or differential trait development (in the case of unique development in state processes). Well-established effects of environmental and biological structures, social roles, age, and life events on personality trait development can be explained by systematic links of these macro-level determinants to the outlined micro-level state processes. This integrative, process-based approach is thought to provide a conceptual basis for empirical research aiming at a comprehensive and fine-grained process understanding of personality development across the lifespan.
Introduction to the special section on self-esteem and personality across the lifespan
Authors: Wagner Jenny , Gerstorf Denis
Published: February 2017

We provide an overview of the themes covered and discuss some of the insights gained in the special section of the International Journal of Behavioral Development (IJBD) devoted to the topic “Self-esteem and personality across the lifespan: Antecedents of development and change.”
Book Review: Dan Ariely, The Irrational Bundle: Predictably Irrational, The Upside of Irrationality, and The Honest Truth about Dishonesty, Kindle edition
Authors: Aggarwal Divya
Published: February 2017

Dan Ariely, The Irrational Bundle: Predictably Irrational, The Upside of Irrationality, and The Honest Truth about Dishonesty, Kindle edition. UK: Harper Collins, 2013, 960 pp., ₹1,121.39
Confusing preclinical (predictive) drug screens with animal ‘models’ of psychiatric disorders, or ‘disorder-like’ behaviour, is undermining confidence in behavioural neuroscience
Authors: Stanford SC
Published: February 2017

Preclinical (predictive) screens for psychotropic drugs are often used, incorrectly, as animal ‘models’ of psychiatric disorders, or to study ‘disorder-like’ behaviours. This misunderstanding is contributing to poor translation and is undermining confidence in behavioural neuroscience. In this editorial, I discuss some of the reasons why the interpretation of results from many of these procedures is dubious because the criteria for validity of the test, as a model of the disorder, have been ignored. Arising from this, I propose that the description of any abnormal behaviour of rodents as a ‘model’ of a psychiatric disorder, or even ‘disorder-like’, without evidence-based justification, should be regarded as unacceptable in this journal.
The Yoyo-Man
Authors: Laumond Jean–Paul , Benallegue Mehdi , Carpentier Justin , Berthoz Alain
Published: February 2017

The paper reports on two results issued from a multidisciplinary research action exploring the motor synergies of anthropomorphic walking. By combining the biomechanical, neurophysiology, and robotics perspectives, it is intended to better understand human locomotion with the ambition to better design bipedal robot architectures. The motivation of the research starts from the simple observation that humans may stumble when following a simple reflex-based locomotion on uneven terrains. The rationale combines two well established results in robotics and neuroscience, respectively:

passive robot walkers, which are very efficient in terms of energy consumption, can be modeled by a simple rotating rimless wheel; humans and animals stabilize their head when moving.

The seminal hypothesis is then to consider a wheel equipped with a stabilized mass on top of it as a plausible model of bipedal walking. The two results presented in the paper support the hypothesis.

From a motion capture data basis of twelve human walkers, we show that the motions of the feet are organized around a geometric center, which is the center of mass, and is surprisingly not at the hip. After introducing a ground texture model that allows us to quantify the stability performance of walker control schemes, we show how compass-like passive walkers are better controlled when equipped with a stabilized 2-degree-of-freedom moving mass on top of them.

The center of mass and head then play complementary roles that define what we call the Yoyo-Man. Beyond the two results presented in the paper, the Yoyo-Man model opens new perspectives to explore the computational foundations of anthropomorphic walking.
Stationary Objects Flashed Periodically Appear to Move During Smooth Pursuit Eye Movement
Authors: Gosselin Frédéric , Faghel-Soubeyrand Simon
Published: February 2017

We discovered that a white disc flashed twice at the same location appears to move during smooth pursuit eye tracking in the direction opposite to that of the eye movement. We called this novel phenomenon movement-induced apparent motion (MIAM). Using the method of constant stimuli, we measured the required displacement of the second appearance of the disc in the pursuit direction to null the effect during the closed-loop stage of smooth pursuit eye tracking. We observed a strong linear relationship between the points of subjective stationarity and the inter-stimuli intervals for four smooth pursuit eye movement speeds. The slopes and y-intercepts of these linear fits were well predicted by the hypothesis according to which subjects saw illusory motion from the first to the second retinal projections of the flashed disc during smooth pursuit eye movement, with no extra-retinal signal compensation.
“We Now Have a Patient and Not a Criminal”: An Exploratory Study of Judges and Lawyers’ Views on Suicide Attempters and the Law in Ghana
Authors: Osafo Joseph , Akotia Charity S. , Andoh-Arthur Johnny , Boakye Kofi E. , N-B Quarshie Emmanuel
Published: February 2017

This study explored the views of judges and lawyers of the superior courts of Ghana on the law criminalizing attempted suicide. Qualitative data were collected from 12 experienced legal practitioners of the superior courts (five judges and seven lawyers) using a semi-structured interview schedule. Thematic analysis of the data yielded three main perspectives: In defence of the Law, Advocating a Repeal, and Pro-Health Orientation. Although exploratory, the findings of this study offer cues for stepping up suicide literacy and advocacy programmes toward either a repeal of the law or a reform.
Spiritual Criminology: The Case of Jewish Criminology
Authors: Ronel Natti , Ben Yair Y.
Published: February 2017

Throughout the ages and in most cultures, spiritual and religious thinking have dealt extensively with offending (person against person and person against the Divine), the response to offending, and rehabilitation of offenders. Although modern criminology has generally overlooked that body of knowledge and experience, the study of spirituality and its relation to criminology is currently growing. Frequently, though, it is conducted from the secular scientific perspective, thus reducing spiritual knowledge into what is already known. Our aim here is to present a complementary perspective; that is, spiritual criminology that emerges from the spiritual perspective. Following a description of the state-of-the-art in criminological research concerning spirituality and its impact upon individuals, we focus on Jewish criminology as an illustrative case study, and present a spiritual Jewish view on good and evil, including factors that lead to criminality, the issue of free choice, the aim of punishment and societal response, crime desistance, rehabilitation, and prevention. The proposed establishment of spiritual criminology can be further developed by including parallel schools of spirituality, to create an integrated field in criminology.
Do Demographic Factors Moderate How Well Criminal Thinking Predicts Recidivism?
Authors: Folk Johanna B. , Stuewig Jeffrey B. , Blasko Brandy L. , Caudy Michael , Martinez Andres G. , Maass Stephanie , Taxman Faye S. , Tangney June P.
Published: February 2017

Is the relationship between criminal thinking and recidivism the same for criminal justice–involved individuals from varying demographic backgrounds? Relying on two independent samples of offenders and two measures of criminal thinking, the current studies examined whether four demographic factors—gender, race, age, and education—moderated the relationship between criminal thinking and recidivism. Study 1 consisted of 226 drug-involved probationers enrolled in a randomized clinical trial. Study 2 consisted of 346 jail inmates from a longitudinal study. Logistic regression models suggested that the strength of the relationship between criminal thinking and subsequent recidivism did not vary based on participant demographics, regardless of justice system setting or measure of criminal thinking. Criminal thinking predicts recidivism similarly for people who are male, female, Black, White, older, younger, and more or less educated.
Attention to infrastructure offers a welcome reconfiguration of anthropological approaches to the political
Authors: Venkatesan Soumhya , Bear Laura , Harvey Penny , Lazar Sian , Rival Laura , Simone AbdouMaliq
Published: February 2017

This constitutes the edited proceedings of the 2015 meeting of the Group for Debates in Anthropological Theory held at Manchester.
Walkable Art: An Empirical Investigation of Arts-Related Businesses and Walkable Neighborhoods
Authors: Mack Elizabeth A. , Talen Emily , Koschinsky Julia
Published: February 2017

The goal of this study is to quantitatively examine the relationship between walkability and arts-related businesses in metropolitan areas across the United States. Model results indicate that the relationship between arts businesses and walkability is sensitive to the size or scale of the business considered, as well as to the definition of the arts used. Larger-scale businesses are somewhat more likely to locate in walkable neighborhoods than are small-scale arts-related businesses, which are less likely to locate in walkable neighborhoods. This difference is likely due to the higher cost of property in these neighborhoods. In this regard, community-level economic development and planning entities need to take proactive measures to ameliorate the cost externalities associated with modifications to urban environments to make them more walkable.
Morphology and properties of polyimide/multi-walled carbon nanotubes composite aerogels
Authors: Zhang Bin , Wu Peng , Zou Huawei , Liu Pengbo
Published: February 2017

Polyimide (PI) aerogels are open-celled materials with high porosity, low density, excellent mechanical property and high thermal stability. Linear PI aerogels exhibit drastic shrinkage during the fabrication process. Cross-linked PI aerogels were usually fabricated by utilizing the costly cross-linking agents such as 1,3,5-triaminophenoxybenzene or octa-(aminophenyl)silsesquioxane. Herein, amino functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs-NH2) were prepared by amidation reaction; PI/MWCNTs-NH2 composite aerogels were fabricated by adding MWCNTs-NH2 to anhydride end-capped poly(amic acid) (PAA), chemical imidization of PAA and supercritical carbon dioxide drying. The microstructures, pore size, elastic modulus, thermal properties and other physical properties of the obtained PI/MWCNTs-NH2 composite aerogels were investigated. The results showed that MWCNTs-NH2 could act as a cross-linker of PI because the amino groups of MWCNTs-NH2 could react with the terminal anhydride groups of PAA. With the addition of MWCNTs-NH2, the shrinkage of PI/MWCNTs-NH2 composite aerogels decreased. The densities and Young’s moduli of PI/MWCNTs-NH2 composite aerogels also decreased. The PI/MWCNTs-NH2 composite aerogels had coralline-like structure with mesopores (average pore size: 11–20 nm). The PI/MWCNTs-NH2 composite aerogels also exhibited decent thermal stability and thermal insulating property.
An improved simplified approach for curing kinetics of epoxy resins by nonisothermal differential scanning calorimetry
Authors: Chen Chao , Li Yanxia , Gu Yizhuo , Li Min , Zhang Zuoguang
Published: February 2017

The curing kinetics of two different types of commercial epoxy resins were investigated by means of nonisothermal differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) in this work. The complex curve of measured heat flow of CYCOM 970 epoxy resin was simplified with the method of resolution of peak. Two typical autocatalytic curing reaction curves were gained and the kinetic parameters of the curing process were demonstrated by combination of those two reactions. The Kissinger method was adopted to obtain the values of the activation energy. The parameters of curing kinetic model were acquired according to the fitting of Kamal model. Isothermal DSC curve of CYCOM 970 epoxy resin obtained using the experimental data shows a good agreement with that theoretically calculated. Then, 603 epoxy resin was investigated by the simplified method and the kinetic parameters were received through the same procedure. The nonisothermal DSC curve tested according to the recommended cure cycle of 603 epoxy resin is also consistent with the calculated results. This improved simplified approach provides an effective method to analyze the curing kinetics of the epoxy resins with complex DSC curves as similar to this study.
SPES/PVDF/TPA composite membrane as an alternative proton exchange membrane in vanadium redox flow battery application
Authors: Lian Xiaojuan , Yang Xin , Liu Hongdong , Liu Haitao , Zhu Jiang
Published: February 2017

A new kind of composite membrane consisting of sulfonated poly(ether sulfone) (SPES), poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF), and phosphotungstic acid (TPA) has been prepared and employed as the ion-exchange membrane for vanadium redox flow battery (VRB) application. The addition of the highly crystalline and hydrophobic PVDF effectively confines the swelling behavior of SPES/PVDF/TPA. The composite membrane exhibits one order of magnitude lower vanadium ions permeability and much better single cell performance compared to pristine SPES and Nafion 115 membranes. The single cell with SPES/PVDF/TPA membrane shows much lower capacity loss, higher coulombic efficiency (>97%), and higher energy efficiency (>82%) than which with Nafion 115 membrane. In the self-discharge test, single cell with SPES/PVDF/TPA membrane shows much longer duration in the open-circuit voltage decay than which with Nafion 115 membrane. With all the good performances and low cost, the SPES/PVDF/TPA membrane is expected to have excellent commercial prospects as ion-exchange membrane for VRB system.
Do Young Drivers Become Safer After Being Involved in a Collision?
Authors: O’Brien Fearghal , Bible Joe , Liu Danping , Simons-Morton Bruce G.
Published: February 2017

As drivers age, their risk of being involved in a car collision decreases. The present study investigated if this trend is due, in part, to some risky drivers having a collision early in their driving lives and subsequently reducing their risky driving after that negative experience. Accelerometers and video cameras were installed in the vehicles of 16- to 17-year-old drivers ( N = 254), allowing coders to measure the number of g-force events (i.e., events in which a threshold acceleration level was exceeded) per 1,000 miles and the number of collisions. Among the 41 participants who experienced a severe collision, the rate of g-force events dropped significantly in the 1st month after the collision, remained unchanged for the 2nd month, and increased significantly in the 3rd month. There were no changes in the rate of g-force events at comparable time points for the drivers not involved in a collision. Being involved in a collision led to a decrease in risky driving, but this may have been a temporary effect.
The ‘secret’ source of ‘female hysteria’: the role that syphilis played in the construction of female sexuality and psychoanalysis in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries
Authors: Rudnick Lois P , Heru Alison M
Published: February 2017

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the unspoken fear of syphilis played a significant role in the development of beliefs about female sexuality. Many women were afraid of sexual relationships with men because they feared contracting syphilis, which was, at that time, untreatable. Women also feared passing this disease on to their children. Women’s sexual aversion, or repression, became a focus for Freud and his colleagues, whose theory of psychosexual development was based on their treatment of women. This article examines the case of Dora, the memoirs of Mabel Dodge Luhan and other sources to argue that the fear of syphilis was a significant factor in upper- and middle-class women’s avoidance of heterosexual relationships. The fear of syphilis, in turn, became a significant factor in the psychoanalytic construction of female sexuality. The social suppression of the fear of syphilis has had a profound impact on theories of women’s development. The implication for psychiatry is that our models of psychological development occur within a sociocultural milieu and cannot escape suppressed aspects of our culture.
Methylation-mediated loss of SFRP2 enhances invasiveness of non–small cell lung cancer cells
Authors: Zhang X , Rong X , Chen Y , Su L
Published: February 2017

The malignancy of non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) largely results from its invasive manner. Secreted frizzled-related proteins (SFRPs) have been recently found to suppress the invasiveness of some cancers. On the other hand, the methylation of SFRPs increases protein degradation to reduce the activity of SFRPs, resulting in increased tumor cell invasion and cancer metastasis. However, the role of SFRPs in the invasion of NSCLC has not been reported. Here we analyzed the regulation of SFRPs in NSCLC cells and its effects on cell invasion. We found that SFRP2 mRNA was significantly decreased and methylation of SFRP2 gene was significantly increased in NSCLC tissue, compared to the paired adjacent nontumor tissue. Moreover, SFRP2 expression was significantly decreased in NSCLC cell lines. In NSCLC cell lines, the SFRP2 expression would be restored by the demethylation of SFRP2 gene with 5′-aza-deoxycytidine in NSCLC cell lines, at the levels of both mRNA and protein. Thus, the cell invasion would be suppressed. Furthermore, the demethylation of SFRP2 gene appeared to inhibit Zinc Finger E-Box Binding Homeobox 1 (ZEB1) and matrix metallopeptidase 9 (MMP9), two key factors that enhance NSCLC cell invasion. Thus, SFRP2 may inhibit NSCLC invasion by suppressing ZEB1 and MMP9, while its methylation promotes NSCLC invasion.
A Holistic Framework for Conceptualizing Hospital Service Quality
Authors: Swain Swapnarag , Kar Nirmal C.
Published: February 2017

Managing service quality has always been one of the most important areas of concern in hospitals. With the advancement of lifestyle, education and awareness among consumers, they are becoming more and more demanding. This is the reason why hospitals are spending huge amount in managing service quality that leads to satisfaction among patients and ultimately contributes in brand building. Thus the first and most important consideration is to determine and understand the various dimensions of service quality in the perspective of hospitals. Many researchers have studied these dimensions of hospital service quality but none of the studies cover all the possible areas of service quality management in a hospital set-up. This study aims to critically review the work of different researchers to determine and define the dimensions that would cover all areas of service quality management in hospitals. This study has developed a conceptual framework of hospital service quality by identifying 15 different dimensions: infrastructure, resource availability, waiting time, food, clinical procedures, administrative procedures, price, trustworthiness, information availability, patient safety, continuity, personalized attention, staff attitude, quality of outcome and religious needs. These 15 dimensions are further clubbed under three broad dimensions such as ‘infrastructural dimension’, ‘procedural dimension’ and ‘interactional dimension’. These dimensions can be used for measuring service quality management practices followed across different categories of hospitals like public and private or multi-specialty and super-specialty.
Curcumin inhibits cancer progression through regulating expression of microRNAs
Authors: Zhou Siying , Zhang Sijie , Shen Hongyu , Chen Wei , Xu Hanzi , Chen Xiu , Sun Dawei , Zhong Shanliang , Zhao Jianhua , Tang Jinhai
Published: February 2017

Curcumin, a major yellow pigment and spice in turmeric and curry, is a powerful anti-cancer agent. The anti-tumor activities of curcumin include inhibition of tumor proliferation, angiogenesis, invasion and metastasis, induction of tumor apoptosis, increase of chemotherapy sensitivity, and regulation of cell cycle and cancer stem cell, indicating that curcumin maybe a strong therapeutic potential through modulating various cancer progression. It has been reported that microRNAs as small noncoding RNA molecules are related to cancer progression, which can be regulated by curcumin. Dysregulated microRNAs play vital roles in tumor biology via regulating expressions of target genes and then influencing multiple cancer-related signaling pathways. In this review, we focused on the inhibition effect of curcumin on various cancer progression by regulating expression of multiple microRNAs. Curcumin-induced dysregulation of microRNAs may activate or inactivate a set of signaling pathways, such as Akt, Bcl-2, PTEN, p53, Notch, and Erbb signaling pathways. A better understanding of the relation between curcumin and microRNAs may provide a potential therapeutic target for various cancers.
Hematological parameters during concurrent chemoradiotherapy as potential prognosticators in patients with stage IIB cervical cancer
Authors: Cho Oyeon , Noh O Kyu , Oh Young-Taek , Chang Suk-Joon , Ryu Hee-Sug , Lee Eun Ju , Chun Mison
Published: February 2017

We hypothesized that hemoglobin levels, absolute neutrophil count, and absolute lymphocyte count were associated with radiotherapy response and cancer progression and that they might reflect tumor repopulation during concurrent chemoradiotherapy. This study aimed to investigate these hematological parameters as prognosticators of cervical cancer. We analyzed 105 stage IIB cervical cancer patients treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy, using log-rank tests and multivariate analyses. Hazard ratios were calculated weekly to evaluate changes in hemoglobin, absolute neutrophil count, and absolute lymphocyte count that were associated with disease-specific survival. Patients were categorized into the high hematological risk (patients with low hemoglobin plus high absolute neutrophil count and/or low absolute lymphocyte count) and the low hematological risk (others) groups according to the median cutoff values. During the second week of concurrent chemoradiotherapy, hematological factors were significantly associated with survival. In multivariate analysis, hematological risk was independently associated with disease-specific survival and progression-free survival. The 5-year disease-specific survival and progression-free survival rates in the high hematological risk group were significantly lower compared with those in the low hematological risk group (81.6% vs 92.6%, p = 0.0297; 73.7% vs 89.3%, p = 0.0163, respectively). During the second week of concurrent chemoradiotherapy, the hematological parameters could predict treatment outcome in stage IIB cervical cancer.
Assessing Multimodal Literacy in the Online Technical Communication Classroom
Authors: Bourelle Tiffany , Bourelle Andrew , Spong Stephanie , Hendrickson Brian
Published: February 2017

This article examines the teaching of a multimodal pedagogy in an online technical communication classroom. Based on the results of an e-portfolio assessment, the authors argue that multimodality can be taught successfully in the online environment if the instructor carefully plans and scaffolds each assignment. Specifically, they argue for an increased emphasis within the technical communication classroom on teaching the e-portfolio as a genre that not only exemplifies students’ multimodal literacies but also establishes their identities as technical communicators in the 21st century. This article provides a model for teaching multimodal composition in the online technical communication classroom and calls for more scholarship on teaching the e-portfolio in the digital environment.
A Teacher’s Guide to Using Extinction in School Settings
Authors: Burt Jonathan L. , Pennington Robert C.
Published: February 2017

The use of extinction procedures or the discontinuation of reinforcement following a behavior targeted for reduction is often used to enhance the efficacy of behavioral interventions. Unfortunately, the application of extinction procedures is associated with several side effects that can produce potentially harmful and counterproductive outcomes. This article defines and describes extinction in practical terms for teachers and outlines recommendations for its use in educational settings.
Eleanor Roosevelt’s Remarkable Transition From the White House Into Widowhood, 1945–1946
Authors: Smith Harold Ivan
Published: February 2017

Eleanor Roosevelt experienced demanding challenges following the unexpected death of her husband, Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR), the president of the United States, on April 12, 1945. That she was no longer first lady led to a series of secondary losses: the loss of status, the loss of staff, the loss of financial security, and, within a week, the loss of her primary residence, The White House. Her transition into “Widow Roosevelt” was complicated by her discovery that FDR had died in the presence of Lucy Mercer Rutherfurd, with whom he had had an affair during World War I. As a condition for staying married and having a political career, he agreed never to see Lucy again. The circumstances of FDR’s betrayal and death were kept secret for nearly two decades. A week after FDR’s death, Eleanor answered a question about her future by a New York Times reporter, with a tense, “The story is over.” However, Harry Truman, FDR’s successor, had other ideas and appointed her as a delegate to the United Nations. Over the next 17 years, Eleanor evolved into “First Lady of the World” and had a significant role in world affairs and American politics.
Facebook Band Director’s Group: Member Usage Behaviors and Perceived Satisfaction for Meeting Professional Development Needs
Authors: Rickels David A. , Brewer Wesley D.
Published: February 2017

The purpose of this study was to investigate participation in a Facebook social media community known as Band Director’s Group (BDG) through examination of members’ demographic profiles, self-reported usage behaviors, and perceptions about how group activity satisfies their professional development needs. Respondents to an online survey ( n = 336) reported near-daily interaction with BDG, with a notable trend toward lower average levels of contributing new content compared with relatively higher levels of passive and semipassive engagement such as reading and “liking” posts of other users.
Preventing the Onset of Child Sexual Abuse by Targeting Young Adolescents With Universal Prevention Programming
Authors: Letourneau Elizabeth J. , Schaeffer Cindy M. , Bradshaw Catherine P. , Feder Kenneth A.
Published: February 2017

Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a serious public health problem that increases risk for physical and mental health problems across the life course. Young adolescents are responsible for a substantial portion of CSA offending, yet to our knowledge, no validated prevention programs that target CSA perpetration by youth exist. Most existing efforts to address CSA rely on reactive criminal justice policies or programs that teach children to protect themselves; neither approach is well validated. Given the high rates of desistance from sexual offending following a youth’s first CSA-related adjudication, it seems plausible that many youth could be prevented from engaging in their first offense. The goal of this article is to examine how school-based universal prevention programs might be used to prevent CSA perpetrated by adolescents. We review the literature on risk and protective factors for CSA perpetration and identify several promising factors to target in an intervention. We also summarize the literature on programs that have been effective at preventing adolescent dating violence and other serious problem behaviors. Finally, we describe a new CSA prevention program under development and early evaluation and make recommendations for program design characteristics, including unambiguous messaging, parental involvement, multisession dosage, skills practice, and bystander considerations.
Metropolitan Eco-Regimes and Differing State Policy Environments: Comparing Environmental Governance in the Portland–Vancouver Metropolitan Area
Authors: Thiers Paul , Stephan Mark , Gordon Sean , Walker Alexander
Published: February 2017

The Portland Metropolitan region, a single economic and ecological region with a bifurcated state and local governance structure, provides an opportunity to compare governance models and state policy environments in a single region. Using stakeholder interviews and secondary sources, we examine the role of state government policy in shaping and supporting different regimes. We find that Portland exhibits a stable, “smart-growth” regime that we characterized as a metropolitan eco-regime whereas Vancouver is in a period of fragmentation without a stable metropolitan regime. This is best explained by the differing state-level regulatory contexts and the different forms of polycentricity influenced by state action. Differences in regime and governance structure result in differently drawn and expanded urban growth boundaries with subsequent differences in land-use outcomes. We conclude with observations about state-level action and subsequent forms of polycentricity to support metropolitan eco-regimes.
Association of hypertension and treatment outcomes in advanced stage non-small cell lung cancer patients treated with bevacizumab or non-bevacizumab containing regimens
Authors: Yan Lily Z , Dressler Emily V , Adams Val R
Published: February 2017

Background

Studies suggest that bevacizumab-induced hypertension is prognostic of better outcomes in bevacizumab-treated patients with metastatic colorectal, HER2-negative breast, kidney, and pancreatic cancer. Few have examined this correlation in metastatic non-small cell lung cancer and evaluated whether hypertension independent of bevacizumab can improve the treatment outcomes.

Objectives

The primary objective was to determine the effect of hypertension on the overall response of advanced non-small cell lung cancer patients from start of the first-line chemotherapy to maintenance therapy. Secondary objectives include the effect of hypertension on the overall survival in all patients and on the overall response in bevacizumab-treated patients.

Methods

A retrospective chart review for a single institution was conducted from 2008 to 2013 on all patients with advanced non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer who received ≥ 1 cycle of combination chemotherapy. Patients were divided into hypertension versus no hypertension and into bevacizumab versus non-bevacizumab groups.

Results

Of the 188 advanced non-small cell lung cancer patients evaluated, 62 were treated with bevacizumab-containing regimens. The mean age at diagnosis was 58 years in both the groups. Hypertension independent of bevacizumab did not lead to improved treatment outcomes. However, in the bevacizumab subgroup, hypertensive patients had significantly higher response rates versus non-hypertensive patients (36.7% vs. 12.5%; p = 0.02). There was no significant difference in the overall survival between hypertensive versus non-hypertensive patients.

Conclusion

While hypertension alone did not significantly improve the treatment outcomes, hypertension in bevacizumab-treated patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer led to significantly improved responses. Further prospective studies are needed to confirm the association of hypertension with improved treatment outcomes in metastatic NSCLC.
Assessing analgesia equivalence and appetite following alfaxalone- or ketamine-based injectable anesthesia for feline castration as an example of enhanced recovery after surgery
Authors: Armstrong Tatum , Wagner Marika C , Cheema Jagjit , Pang Daniel SJ
Published: February 2017

Objectives

The primary study objective was to assess two injectable anesthetic protocols, given to facilitate castration surgery in cats, for equivalence in terms of postoperative analgesia. A secondary objective was to evaluate postoperative eating behavior.

Methods

Male cats presented to a local clinic were randomly assigned to receive either intramuscular ketamine (5 mg/kg, n = 26; KetHD) or alfaxalone (2 mg/kg, n = 24; AlfHD) in combination with dexmedetomidine (25 μg/kg) and hydromorphone (0.05 mg/kg). All cats received meloxicam (0.3 mg/kg SC) and intratesticular lidocaine (2 mg/kg). Species-specific pain and sedation scales were applied at baseline, 1, 2 and 4 h postoperatively. Time taken to achieve sternal recumbency and begin eating were also recorded postoperatively.

Results

Pain scale scores were low and showed equivalence between the treatment groups at all time points (1 h, P = 0.38, 95% confidence interval [CI] of the difference between group scores 0–0; 2 h, P = 0.71, 95% CI 0–0; 4 h, P = 0.97, 95% CI 0–0). Four cats crossed the threshold for rescue analgesia (KetHD, n = 1; AlfHD, n = 3). At 1 h, more cats in the KetHD (65%) group than in the AlfHD (42%) group were sedated, but statistical significance was not detected ( P = 0.15, 95% CI −1 to 0). Most AlfHD cats (88%) began eating by 1 h vs 65% of KetHD cats ( P = 0.039). Time to recover sternal recumbency did not differ between groups ( P = 0.86, 95% CI −14.1 to 11.8).

Conclusions and relevance

These results show that AlfHD and KetHD provide equivalent analgesia as part of a multimodal injectable anesthetic protocol. Alfaxalone is associated with an earlier return to eating.
Mobilizing resources to the square: Hong Kong’s Anti-Moral and National Education movement as precursor to the Umbrella Movement
Authors: Wang Klavier Jie Ying
Published: February 2017

Little research has paid attention to the Anti-Moral and National Education (Anti-M&N) movement during 2011–12 in Hong Kong, which, to a large extent, provided the resources and tactical preparations for the 2014 Umbrella Movement. In this study, the author unfolds the mobilization of the 2012 Anti-M&N movement: the dynamics of different organizations as well as the processes of accumulating and integrating movement resources. Studies of movement resource mobilization have focused on material resources and professional-based human resources. In recent years, much research has claimed that the new technologies have transformed the way movements are mobilized. Founded on the resource mobilization premise, this study unveils how the mobilization process has become hybrid, as the existing social movement organizations (SMOs) and their coalition networks and online channels collectively drive the evolution of activism in terms of format and scale. Visual resources were also manufactured by organizers as a way to increase the affective connection among the general public.
‘The future that belongs to us’: Affective politics, neoliberalism and the Sunflower Movement
Authors: Wang Chih-ming
Published: February 2017

The Sunflower Movement that took place in Taiwan in spring 2014 has been an epochal event for Taiwan, China, and East Asia. Many critics identified China as the most important factor for triggering the movement, while others emphasized the internal contradictions of economy, politics, and culture within Taiwan as reasons for its outburst. Although the Sunflower Movement has been treated as Taiwanese resistance to political and economic integration with China under the framework of free trade and the World Trade Organization, few have considered the discourses of neoliberalism surrounding and instigating it as the conditions of subjectivity in which Taiwanese youth apprehend their place and future. In the Sunflower Movement, neoliberalism is prominently associated with worries about the future, where college students on the verge of entering the job market feel ambivalent about their career prospects and life choices. These young people feel a sharp sense of deprivation and a strong anxiety about Chinese competition. How do we theorize such anxieties about the future in relation to neoliberalism as a structure of feeling, and such anxious subjects, in relation to Taiwan’s status? This article addresses these issues by conceptualizing the Sunflower Movement as an affective-political outburst of discontents that sits uncomfortably with the future of neoliberal globalization as the ontology of being.
Looking back at the candlelight protests of 2008, South Korea: Reflection on its multiple implications and lessons
Authors: Lee Keehyeung
Published: February 2017

This article revisits and critically explores the candlelight demonstrations of 2008 in South Korea through several interconnected interpretive angles. The candlelight protests emerged in early May 2008 and continued for over three months, mainly in the capital city of Seoul and other major cities. This mega event was ignited by the sudden resumption of importation of US beef products, which had been banned since 2003 due to fear of the ‘mad cow disease’. The Lee Myung-bak government lifted the ban out of political and economic considerations at the expense of public health concerns. Tens of thousands of people, including youngsters, women, urban professionals, civic groups, intellectuals and ‘netizens’ participated the demonstrations. What was distinct about this historic event was the unconventional forms of alliances and vibrant networked actions of voluntary concerned actors, who creatively generated street rallies, horizontal networks, inventive tactics, and galvanized popular support. Such embodiments of political mobilization and coalitional will from below were carried out by the extensive use of information technologies as well as the sharing of various discursive resources and charged emotions. This article attempts to illuminate the various formative and contextual factors surrounding this mega event, its key implications, achievements, limits, as well as hard-earned lessons.