bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The use of dental putty in the assessment of hard surfaces within paved urban areas that may leave defined or patterned marks on bodies
Authors: Johnson Oliver Ross , Lyall Matt , Johnson Christopher Paul
Published: March 2014

The identification of a patterned skin or scalp mark at autopsy can provide key forensic evidence in identifying an injury that may have been left by an assailant’s footwear. It is also important to consider whether such a mark could alternatively have been left by the deceased coming into forceful contact with a hard surface at the scene of an incident, for example by falling. This study was designed to demonstrate how variable surfaces are within paved urban areas, including those which might leave marks resembling footwear patterns, and to evaluate whether dental putty impression lifting is a practical and effective adjunct to photography in assessing patterned surfaces. Eighteen ‘scenes’ of approximately 50 m2 were assessed for different hard surfaces by photography and by the production of dental putty impression lifts. The number of hard surfaces varied between 4 and 12 per scene, with 90% (122/135) of all hard surfaces deemed likely to leave distinct marking on skin with forceful contact and 46% (62/135) a defined/regular mark potentially similar to a footwear injury (mean = 3.4 per scene). Dental putty proved to be an excellent tool in characterising hard surfaces, producing firm but slightly flexible lifts that can be used in combination with a commercially available inkless footwear impression kit to generate transparencies that help facilitate detailed comparison work. Whenever a potential footwear mark is identified at autopsy, a systematic examination of all hard surfaces at the scene is mandatory, and this process will be significantly strengthened by the use of dental putty.
Urban rapid rail transit and gentrification in Canadian urban centres: A survival analysis approach
Authors: Grube-Cavers Annelise , Patterson Zachary
Published: March 2014

Despite the existing knowledge that urban rapid rail transit has many effects on surrounding areas, and despite some attempts to understand the links between transit and gentrification, there remain methodological gaps in the research. This study addresses the relationship between the implementation of urban rapid rail transit and gentrification, which is conceived of as an event. As such, an event analysis approach using ‘survival analysis’ is adopted as the statistical analytical tool. It tests whether proximity to rail transit is related to the onset of gentrification in census tracts in Canada’s largest cities. It is found that proximity to rail transit, and to other gentrifying census tracts, have a statistically significant effect on gentrification in two of the three cities analysed. By providing a methodological framework for the empirical analysis of the impact of urban rail transit on gentrification, this paper is a reference for both researchers and transportation planners.
Placing community self-governance: Building materialities, nuisance noise and neighbouring in self-governing communities
Authors: Power Emma R
Published: March 2014

In self-governing residential communities processes of governance through community appear to be triggering a contractualisation of neighbouring and demise in socially inflected relations. Research to date has examined the socio-political dimensions of neighbouring, highlighting governance frameworks and the social context as key forces shaping transformations in community practice. Meanwhile, the material space of residential estates has largely disappeared from view, assuming a static role as either a container for social relations or a symbol informing estate standards. This paper advances a different perspective, arguing that residential materialities must be taken seriously as agents within community governance and neighbouring. Through a case study examining the management of pets and nuisance noise in strata-titled apartments in Sydney, Australia, the paper shows that community governance takes place through the material environment. Understandings of community self-governance and the ‘building event’ are productively combined to re-place understandings of community self-governance processes.
The intersection of homeownership, race and neighbourhood context: Implications for neighbourhood satisfaction
Authors: Greif Meredith
Published: March 2014

This study contributes to the growing body of literature on the multifaceted consequences of homeownership for households and their communities, which has seldom focused on neighbourhood satisfaction, an important predictor of neighbourhood quality. Existing studies on the relationship between homeownership and neighbourhood satisfaction have not considered whether homeownership varies in its consequences depending on local context or racial background. Homeownership may render residents more responsive to neighbourhood conditions, to their benefit and to their detriment, depending on local context. Patterns may further vary across racial groups, given vast interracial inequalities in the attainment of desirable neighbourhood outcomes and homeownership. Employing a sample of 1897 respondents from the 2001 Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey (LAFANS), as well as data from the 2000 Census, this study uncovers a complex set of interrelationships among homeownership, neighbourhood characteristics and race. Homeownership makes residents more sensitive to the desirability of local characteristics, proving beneficial in advantaged communities and disadvantageous in distressed communities. These conclusions are broadly applicable to blacks, Latinos and whites, though homeownership is more salient among blacks and Latinos in determining their response to neighbourhood conditions. Given differential access to desirable neighbourhoods and asset accumulation across racial groups, findings raise new and important questions regarding the meaning of homeownership for minority households and their communities.
‘New uses need old buildings’: Gentrification aesthetics and the arts in Singapore
Authors: Chang TC
Published: March 2014

The phrases ‘new uses need old buildings’ and ‘old buildings require new uses’ emphasise the mutually reinforcing relationships between historic buildings and new activities in cities. What the phrases do not say are the challenges and incompatibilities that are part of the urban redevelopment process. Singapore’s inner city has been transformed since the 1990s with the introduction of new economies. This paper focuses on one precinct that has undergone land use change – Little India. The concept of ‘gentrification aesthetics’ provides a suggestive frame to explore the form and outcome of urban change, as well as its contestations when new arts and cultural activities occupy historic buildings. Gentrification aesthetics as conceptualised in the West takes on different perspectives in Singapore, prompting questions on whether a ‘Singapore style gentrification’ is evolving – one that melds urban redevelopment with state ideology in arts enhancement and aesthetic regulation.
Public Managers, Media Influence, and Governance
Authors: Klijn Erik Hans , van Twist Mark , van der Steen Martijn , Jeffares Stephen
Published: March 2014

Nowadays, media and media logic have become important and inherent elements in everyday practices of public administration and policy making. However, the logic of the media is often very different from, and conflicting with, the logic of political and administrative life. So the question of how public managers experience and deal with media attention is more relevant than ever. An analytical sketch of the literature on the relationship between public managers and media provides three main categories of literature (public relations, agenda, and mediatization tradition). These three categories are used to develop statements (so-called Q-sort statements) to capture the way public managers experience their relationship with the media. A group of managers involved in oversight then sorted these statements into order of preference. The research reveals three different groups of managers who show different attitudes to media attention and whom we have labeled as adaptors, great communicators, and fatalists.
Institutional facilities in national health research systems in sub-Saharan African countries: results of a questionnaire-based survey
Authors: Kebede Derege , Zielinski Chris , Mbondji Peter Ebongue , Sanou Issa , Kouvividila Wenceslas , Lusamba-Dikassa Paul-Samson
Published: March 2014

Objective

To describe the current status of institutional facilities and the supporting research infrastructure of surveyed health research institutions in Africa, including information on communication technologies and connectivity, library resources, and laboratory operations and resources.

Design

A structured questionnaire was used to solicit information on institutional facilities at health research institutions.

Setting

Health research institutions in 42 sub-Saharan African countries.

Participants

Key informants from 847 health research institutions.

Main outcome measures

The availability of laboratory, information and communication, and library facilities in health research institutions.

Results

Less than half of the respondent health research institutions had computer laboratories (49%), network computers (50%) and information technology support (38%). More than two-thirds (67%) had a library. Electronic subscriptions to international journals were observed to be very low, with an average of three subscriptions per institution. Almost two-thirds of the surveyed institutions (69%) reported having laboratories, about half of which (55%) were accredited nationally. Linkages and research collaborations were generally weak, particularly those with other laboratories in the Region. Challenges included financial and human resource constraints and the inability to communicate effectively with partners.

Conclusions

Health research institutions in the Region have insufficient access to essential facilities such as laboratories, libraries, computers and the Internet to generate, access and share information.
The 21st-century impact of European Muslim minorities on ‘Official Islam’ in the Muslim-majority world
Authors: Laurence Jonathan
Published: March 2014

The article argues that the growth of religious service provision directed at the Muslim diaspora in Europe has led to greater professionalization and pluralism within the Islam state in Muslim countries. Contemporary Muslim governments have claimed a monopoly over public prayer and religious education and have heavily invested in a network of infrastructure and services – the Islam state. The recent breakthrough of Islamist parties into governments in Turkey and across North Africa poses a challenge to the continued ‘civilian control’ over religion. What will become of the enormous Islamic Affairs ministries that Islamist parties have inherited – the hundreds of thousands of public servants of state Islam across the region, the tens of thousands of mosques and thousands of religious schools? Liberals demand the abolition of the Islam state because it violates the separation of religion and state; Islamists detest it for its repressive qualities. Despite progressive liberalization, governments in the past decade have not sought disestablishment, and have instead increased the resources and policing of state-run religion. I draw on the experience of Muslim governments in the competitive field of state–Islam relations in European countries to explain the modest beginnings of reform of the official religion apparatus in Muslim-majority countries.
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Queer Grandchildren’s Disclosure Process With Grandparents
Authors: Scherrer Kristin S.
Published: March 2014

Little is known about how the sexual orientation of gay, lesbian, bisexual, or queer (GLBQ) young adults emerges in their relationships with grandparents. This article explores grandchildren’s experiences with disclosing their sexual orientation to grandparents using qualitative interviews with 28 grandchildren whose grandparents know about their GLBQ sexual orientation. Findings are contextualized using family systems theory as I argue that grandchildren’s motivations to disclose their sexual orientation mirrors previous findings that having a close relationship or having grandparents demonstrate less conservative values motivates grandchildren’s interest in disclosure to grandparents. However, grandchildren’s accounts also demonstrate how their disclosure experiences are shaped by other factors, such as the salience of their sexual orientation in their relationship or the desire to protect grandparents from the negative repercussions of disclosure. Findings indicate that parents and other family members, and the family system more generally, are woven into GLBQ grandchildren’s disclosure experiences. As such, coming out may be usefully contextualized as a family systems issue.
Influence of Aquariums on Resident Behavior and Staff Satisfaction in Dementia Units
Authors: Edwards Nancy E. , Beck Alan M. , Lim Eunjung
Published: March 2014

The influence of an aquarium on resident behavior and staff job satisfaction in three dementia units was examined. The sample consisted of 71 individuals with dementia and 71 professional staff. A pretest–posttest design was utilized. Baseline resident behavior and staff satisfaction were obtained, and an aquarium was introduced into the setting. Post-behavioral assessment and job satisfaction surveys were completed. Residents’ behaviors improved along four domains: uncooperative, irrational, sleep, and inappropriate behaviors. The overall residents’ behavior score was significantly improved after an aquarium was introduced, F = 15.60, p < .001. Their mean disruptive behavior score decreased from 67.2 to 58.2. The staff’s satisfaction score significantly improved, F = 35.34, p < .001. Pretest to posttest mean scores improved from 149.4 to 157.9. Aquariums are an innovative way for animal-assisted therapy and nature to be introduced to specialized dementia units in long-term care.
Clinicopathological and surgical experience with primary cardiac tumors
Authors: Barnes Hayley , Conaglen Paul , Russell Prue , Newcomb Andrew
Published: March 2014

Background

Intracardiac tumors are rare neoplasms that present with clinical features of obstruction, embolization, conduction disturbances, and constitutional symptoms. Complete surgical resection under cardiopulmonary bypass offers the best prospect of disease-free survival.

Methods

Data of 30 consecutive patients who underwent resection of an intracardiac mass at St. Vincent’s Hospital from 1990 to 2012 were reviewed.

Results

The patients presented with dyspnea (33%), palpitations or arrhythmias (20%), and recurrent pulmonary edema (6%). There was a history of embolic stroke in 46%. Intracardiac masses were identified using preoperative echocardiography. Resection was performed on cardiopulmonary bypass via a modified Dubost (superior transseptal) approach in 78%, a left atriotomy in 11%, and a biatrial approach in 5%. Twenty-eight (93%) masses were identified as neoplastic, predominantly myxomas (62%). There was no mortality at 30 days. On long-term follow-up (mean 9 years, range 1–19 years) there were 5 deaths; 83% of patients were still alive.

Conclusions

Cardiac tumors are rare and an important differential diagnosis in the context of unexplained obstructive symptoms, emboli, and conduction abnormalities. Myxomas are the most common cardiac neoplasm. Solid tumors are more common, more likely to be associated with heart failure, and best excised in one whole part, whereas papillary tumors are more likely to be associated with neurological symptoms, and more likely to be resected by piecemeal removal. Prompt and complete resection under cardiopulmonary bypass is the safest approach.
China’s ‘Fake’ Apple Store: Branded Space, Intellectual Property and the Global Culture Industry
Authors: Yang Fan
Published: March 2014

This essay deploys the joint lenses of branding and space to examine the hegemonic operation of the Apple brand in the global culture industry. It does so by analyzing China’s ‘fake Apple Store’ event in 2011, which began with an American expat blogger’s discovery and subsequently caught the attention of global news media. While copying the look of an official Apple Store, these retailers displayed and sold genuine products originally assembled in China. Probing the cultural logic that gave rise to the event, I argue that China’s ‘fake’ Apple Store emblematizes the power relations and subject positions that emanate from Apple’s global hegemony. The Apple Store, as a branded environment, is best seen as a heterotopia whose interpellating mechanism relies on the extensive-intensive character of the intellectual property rights (IPR) regime. While China’s copycat Apple Store can be seen as an attempt at a production of sameness, the ‘user-generated’ charge of its ‘fakery’ stems from the ‘distributed’ power of the Apple brand, which operates through a production of difference. Even though the varied responses to the event (on the part of Chinese authorities and Apple, the brand owner) reveal the contradiction within Apple’s extensive global reach, it more importantly points to a condition wherein consumer turned ‘prod-user’ subjects act as self-enlisted agents who work to perpetuate the brand’s design-intensive value regime. While the spectacle of ‘Chinese fakery’ manifests the ideological work of IPR in naturalizing the distinction between the copy and the fake, the extensive-intensive operation of the brand, embodied by the Apple Store, also undermines the ability of consumer subjects to meaningfully engage the ‘Chinese reality’ that is manufacturing labor.
Zygmunt Bauman and the Consumption of Ethics by the Ethics of Consumerism
Authors: Dalgliesh Bregham
Published: March 2014

This article focuses on the ethical quandary of Zygmunt Bauman’s interpretation of modernity as a double logic that heralds both emancipation and domination. After outlining his liberation sociology and the liquid moral ontologies he discerns, it argues Bauman’s solution to the consumption of ethics by consumerism demands too much, too late. Firstly, Bauman misappropriates Joseph Schumpeter’s concept of creative destruction. The actual outcome is the dissipation of the Levinasian centrifugal self, whom Bauman wants to uphold as a cure for the Nietzschean centripetal self. Secondly, as Daniel Miller shows, totalizing critiques of consumerism – such as Bauman’s – blind us to forms of moral self-constitution within consumption. And, thirdly, Bauman’s concept of the autonomous agent overlooks the power relations that are inherent to the constitution of subjectivity. Notwithstanding, Bauman highlights the need to articulate an ethics of freedom, and the article concludes with Foucault’s aesthetics of existence to meet this challenge.
Posthuman Ethics with Cary Wolfe and Karen Barad: Animal Compassion as Trans-Species Entanglement
Authors: Chiew Florence
Published: March 2014

Although critiques of humanism are not new, the currency of posthumanist discourse on the nonhuman – the animal, the environment, or the object – suggests rising concerns about humanity’s place in the ecological order. This article interrogates Cary Wolfe's posthumanist framework as he approaches the questions of activism and agency in the context of animal ethics and disability politics. By drawing attention to the contradictions in his own commitments to rethinking human exceptionalism, I examine how Wolfe's appeal for a more compassionate account of ethics vis-à-vis the notion of ‘trans-species empathy’ can be more gainfully addressed through the work of feminist and quantum physicist Karen Barad. This essay contends that by preserving the difference between the human and the nonhuman (or animal) as something that is given rather than interrogated, the assumption of ‘the human’ as a self-contained identity is left unchanged and unchallenged.
Stuck on you
Authors: Knopp Kayla C. , Rhoades Galena K. , Stanley Scott M. , Markman Howard J.
Published: March 2014

Theorists agree that commitment has different components, but the interaction between two fundamental aspects of commitment—dedication (interpersonal commitment) and constraint (external pressures to stay together)—has not been examined to our knowledge. The effects of the interaction between dedication and constraint on several measures of discomfort were examined among adults in opposite-sex dating relationships ( N = 1,294). In the context of lower dedication, greater material or perceived constraint was associated with more psychological distress, feelings of entrapment, and anxiety about abandonment. These results indicate that constraints feel subjectively different depending on interpersonal commitment to the relationship. Examining such interactions may help researchers better understand the role of constraints in the developmental course of romantic relationship commitment.
Top 10 U.S. Municipal Police Departments and Their Social Media Usage
Authors: Brainard Lori , Edlins Mariglynn
Published: March 2014

Social media technologies present a new way for government agencies to connect with, and potentially collaborate with, their residents. Police departments (PDs) are a setting ripe for use of social media as an extension of their community policing efforts. In this article, we explore the use of social media by PDs in the top 10 most populous U.S. cities. We analyze police-initiated posts on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube over a 3-month period to determine what accounts PDs use, if they use social media for information transmission or interaction, and if they use the accounts for dialogue that might make collaboration possible. We find that while PDs have and use social media, and while citizens are responsive, there is much less interaction in part due to nonresponsiveness of PDs themselves. We thus conclude that though the existence of some PD-resident dialogue is promising, very little was collaborative.
Increased Risk of Osteoarthritis After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction
Authors: Barenius Björn , Ponzer Sari , Shalabi Adel , Bujak Robert , Norlén Louise , Eriksson Karl
Published: March 2014

Background:

The reported prevalence of radiological osteoarthritis (OA) after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction varies from 10% to 90%.

Purpose/Hypothesis:

To report the prevalence of OA after ACL reconstruction and to compare the OA prevalence between quadrupled semitendinosus tendon (ST) and bone–patellar tendon–bone (BPTB) grafts. The hypothesis was that there would be no difference in OA prevalence between the graft types. The secondary aim was to study whether patient characteristics and additional injuries were associated with long-term outcomes.

Study Design:

Randomized controlled trial; Level of evidence, 1.

Methods:

Radiological examination results, Tegner activity levels, and Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) values were determined in 135 (82%) of 164 patients at a mean of 14 years after ACL reconstruction randomized to an ST or a BPTB graft. Osteoarthritis was defined according to a consensus by at least 2 of 3 radiologists of Kellgren-Lawrence grade ≥2. Using regression analysis, graft type, sex, age, overweight, time between injury and reconstruction, additional meniscus injury, and a number of other variables were assessed as risk factors for OA 14 years after ACL reconstruction.

Results:

Osteoarthritis of the medial compartment was most frequent, with 57% of OA cases in the ACL-reconstructed knee and 18% of OA cases in the contralateral knee ( P < .001). There was no difference between the graft types: 49% of OA of the medial compartment for BPTB grafts and 65% for ST grafts ( P = .073). The KOOS results were lower for patients with OA in all subscales, indicating that OA was symptomatic. No difference in the KOOS between the graft types was found. Meniscus resection was a strong risk factor for OA of the medial compartment (odds ratio, 3.6; 95% CI, 1.4-9.3) in the multivariable logistic regression analysis.

Conclusion:

A 3-fold increased prevalence of OA was found after an ACL injury treated with reconstruction compared with the contralateral healthy knee. No differences in the prevalence of OA between the BPTB and quadrupled ST reconstructions were found. An initial meniscus resection was a strong risk factor for OA; the time between injury and reconstruction was not.
Unequal Exchange and the Rentier Economy
Authors: Baiman Ron
Published: March 2014

Detailed analysis of BEA methodology and data strongly suggests that U.S. GDP is overvalued on the output side. The ability to generate income without producing real value-added output is a key characteristic of a “rentier economy.” Broader indicators include a massive increase in financial activity and “finance, insurance, and real estate” (FIRE), declining manufacturing share, declining real investment in plant and equipment, increased outsourcing of production and rising trade deficits, declining employment and real wage growth, rising profits, growing inequality, and increasing aggregate demand dependency on private (household and business) and public sector debt. Based on these indicators, relative to other advanced countries like Germany, the U.S. has since the mid-1970’s increasingly become a “rentier economy.” Grafting a schematic “rentier economy” onto a simple “free trade unequal exchange” model from Baiman (2006) highlights the labor exchange, inequality, and efficiency characteristics of rentier United States, unequal exchange (German), and developing country (China), economies. Reviving the U.S. economy and restoring full employment will require a public policy induced reallocation of resources away from rentier activity back to productive high-value added “unequal exchange” production.
Urban Agriculture Policy Making in New York’s “New Political Spaces”
Authors: Cohen Nevin , Reynolds Kristin
Published: March 2014

U.S. cities have implemented policies to support urban agriculture (UA), often developed in “new political spaces” formed when conventional policy mechanisms are unable to resolve municipal problems. This article examines these processes in New York City, particularly aspects of UA that existing policies, plans, and research strategies have not fully addressed. Interviews with UA stakeholders and an analysis of the city’s UA policy-making processes show that resource needs, along with race- and class-based disparities within the UA system remain. We recommend several policy and research strategies for creating a more participatory, representative, and multifunctional UA system.
eCoaching: The Effects on Co-Teachers’ Planning and Instruction
Authors: Ploessl Donna M. , Rock Marcia L.
Published: March 2014

Although co-teaching has become a popular approach to special education service provision in inclusive classrooms, practitioners have struggled to carry it out well. One suggestion for improvement has been to provide co-teachers with training that includes coaching. In this study, we used single-case (ABAB) withdrawal design, to investigate the effects of eCoaching, delivered through online bug-in-ear technology, on co-teachers as they planned and carried out co-teaching. Participants included three co-teaching dyads ( n = 6); each comprised of one general and one special educator. Visual inspection of graphed data along with quantitative analysis (i.e., percentage of non-overlapping data) confirmed that eCoaching increased participants’ use of varied co-teaching models and student-specific accommodations, while co-teachers’ interviews and students’ time samples verified social validity. Taken together, these findings lead to better understanding of the benefits and limitations of eCoaching with co-teachers.
The Effects of Teacher Beliefs on Teaching Practices and Achievement of Students With Disabilities
Authors: Klehm Mary
Published: March 2014

Many students with disabilities (SWD) are not meeting proficiency, and achievement scores disaggregated by disability status show that SWD are often not meeting progress targets established by states. A survey was developed to collect data from 218 general and special educators to analyze trends in teachers’ attitudes and practices that may be affecting the educational experience and achievement of many SWD. Results of these analyses provide information regarding the attitudes of teachers toward the ability of SWD and the fairness and validity of high-stakes testing. Teachers’ attitudes toward the ability of SWD, teacher classification, and the amount of teacher training were all found to be predictors of the use of evidence-based practice. The attitude of teachers toward the ability of SWD to learn and achieve higher level thinking was found to predict proficient scores of SWD on the New England Common Assessment Program achievement test.
The Normative Limits of Choice
Authors: Stern Mark , Clonan Sheila , Jaffee Laura , Lee Anna
Published: March 2014

As charter schools continue to attract lots of political and policy attention, research has emerged suggesting that these schools enroll fewer students with disabilities than public schools. Given that the success of the movement is based on charters being more effective than public schools as determined by test scores, it is not entirely surprising that we see exclusionary practices taking place. Responding to this issue, many states have increased oversight to ensure inclusion and equity. At the same time, other charters have opened specifically for students with special needs. Using a disability studies lens, this article asks questions of the charter movement and the policy responses by problematizing the perpetuation of both normative school practices and constructions of ability.
Dynamic Participation in Interdistrict Open Enrollment
Authors: Lavery Lesley , Carlson Deven
Published: March 2014

Interdistrict open enrollment is the nation’s largest and most widespread school choice program, but our knowledge of these programs is limited. Drawing on 5 years of student-level data from the universe of public school attendees in Colorado, we perform a three-stage analysis to examine the dynamics of student participation in the state’s interdistrict open enrollment program. First, we explore the characteristics of students who open enroll in a defined baseline year. Second, we analyze the characteristics of students who continue to participate in the program in subsequent years. Finally, we examine the characteristics of students who—conditional on not open enrolling in the defined-baseline year—choose to participate in the program in one or more subsequent years.
Incidence of and risk factors for non-vertebral and vertebral fracture in female Chinese patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: a five-year cohort study
Authors: Zhu TY , Griffith JF , Au S-K , Tang X-L , Kwok AW , Leung P-C , Li EK , Tam L-S
Published: March 2014

Objective

The objective of this paper is to investigate the incidence of both non-vertebral and vertebral fracture in female patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and to identify risk factors for incident fracture.

Methods

In a five-year prospective study of 127 female Chinese SLE patients with an average age of 46.9 years (SD: 10.1 years), information on potential risk factors, including demographics, clinical data and bone mineral density (BMD) at lumbar spine and hip by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry was collected at baseline. At follow-up, participants reported incident non-vertebral fracture during the study period. Semi-quantitative analysis was used to determine incident vertebral fracture on lateral thoracic and lumbar radiographs, defined as any vertebral body graded normal at baseline and at least mildly deformed (20%–25% reduction or more in any vertebral height) at follow-up.

Results

Nine incident non-vertebral fractures occurred in eight patients during the study period. Six patients had one or more incident vertebral fractures. The incidence of non-vertebral and vertebral fracture was 1.26 and 0.94 per 100 patient-years, respectively. In multivariate logistic analyses, independent variables associated with incident non-vertebral fracture were duration of glucocorticoid use and prevalent lumbar spine osteoporosis, while risk factors associated with incident vertebral fracture were higher organ damage and prevalent lumbar spine osteoporosis.

Conclusions

The incidence of fracture in SLE patients is lower than the prevalence reported in cross-sectional studies. Lumbar spine BMD appears to have a stronger relationship with incident fracture than hip BMD. This warrants further investigation regarding the optimal site of BMD measurement when predicting fracture risk in SLE patients.
Vitamin D levels in Jamaican patients with systemic lupus erythematosus
Authors: McGhie TK , DeCeulaer K , Walters CA , Soyibo A , Lee MG
Published: March 2014

Vitamin D has important effects on the immune system as it has been shown to exert antiproliferative and relative immunosuppressant effects. Low levels of this hormone may contribute to the immune activation in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and other autoimmune diseases. Serum levels of 25-OH vitamin D were measured in 75 patients with SLE in Jamaica, using an enzyme-linked immunoassay. Correlations with clinical data and disease activity as determined by the BILAG index were determined. Of a total of 75 patients, 33 (44%) had vitamin D sufficiency with mean vitamin D level of 39.45 ng/ml (range, 30.35–58.16). Forty-two (56%) patients had either vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency, 30 (40%) had vitamin D insufficiency, mean 26.36 ng/ml (range, 20.26–29.88), and 12 (16%) had vitamin D deficiency, mean 16.07 ng/ml (range, 7.78–19.90). There was an overall negative relationship between the total disease activity score using the BILAG index and vitamin D levels, and this was influenced primarily by the relationship seen among the vitamin D-deficient subgroup. This was also impacted on by a patient population that was significantly skewed toward low disease activity. The negative association trended toward statistical significance. Vitamin D deficiency is prevalent among patients with SLE in Jamaica. A relationship between low serum levels of vitamin D and SLE activity may occur.
The efficacy of integrating spirituality into undergraduate nursing curricula
Authors: Yilmaz Meryem , Gurler Hesna
Published: March 2014

Background:

Attention to patients’ spirituality, as a moral obligation of care, is now widely accepted in nursing practice. However, until recently, many nursing programs have paid little attention to spirituality.

Objective:

The objective of this study was to identify the impact of two different curricula, used to teach undergraduate nursing students, on increasing nursing student awareness of spirituality in the care of patients.

Research design:

A quasi-experimental post-intervention two-group design was conducted in 2009–2010 and 2010–2011 academic years.

Participants and research context:

The study included a total of 130 volunteer senior-year students. The students were assigned as “the intervention group/integrated system” that were informed about spirituality or as “the control group/traditional system” that received no information on spirituality. Data were collected via a personal information form and the Spirituality and Spiritual Care Rating Scale was used to assess responses. The study was conducted at the Department of Nursing of the Faculty of Health Sciences, Cumhuriyet University, in Central Anatolia/Turkey.

Ethical considerations:

Permission to conduct the study at the nursing school was obtained from the schools’ management teams. The rights of the participants were protected in this study by obtaining informed consent.

Findings:

The results revealed that the intervention group had a higher mean score on the Spirituality and Spiritual Care Rating Scale than did the control group. The students in the intervention group defined the terms of spirituality and spiritual care more accurately than did the control group students.

Discussion:

Nurses are professionally and ethically responsible for providing spiritual care. Nurses’ competence in meeting the spiritual needs of their patients should be improved by undergraduate education on spiritual care. Nursing scholars reported a significant difference in the knowledge and attitudes toward spirituality of nursing students as a result of the integration of spirituality into the undergraduate nursing curriculum.

Conclusion:

Spirituality should be more widely included in nursing education.
Inculcation of Values for Best Practices in Student Support Services in Open and Distance Learning—The IGNOU Experience
Authors: Agrawal Sampat Ray , Ghosh Chinmoy Kumar
Published: March 2014

Student support services are the cardinal features of the Open and Distance Learning (ODL) System. In India, the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), 13 state open universities and over 200 Distance Education Institutes (DEIs) attached to conventional universities and private/autonomous institutes offering programmes through the distance mode ( MHRD, 2013 ) have all created adequate provisions for learner support services and the systems, rules, regulations and norms have been put in place. However, it is significant that a learner in the ODL system remains away from the teacher and the peer group. Thus, the learner feels isolated ( Das & Ghosh, 2011a ) and needs the empathy of all the functionaries concerned.

It has been our experience at IGNOU that more often than not the functionaries fail to realize the value of a learner and the learner fails to understand the value attributed to him by the ODL system. Without such realization the rules and regulations lose their significance. Hence, inculcation of values is of paramount importance in the functioning of the ODL system.

In this article we have discussed about ‘inculcation of values’ among the ‘learners’ as well as the ‘functionaries’ for developing ‘best practices’ in learner support services in the ODL system. The inputs are based primarily on direct experiences of the authors.
Intergenerational Differences in the Preferences for Family Values: An Indian Perspective
Authors: Tripathi Amit Kumar
Published: March 2014

In the collectivist culture of India, family occupies a central place in organizing social and personal lives of the people. However, the forces of industrialization and urbanization are changing the life style and leading to reprioritization of values. Against this backdrop this study examined the pattern of actual and desired family values in the context of ecology, family type and generation. The sample ( n = 90) was drawn from urban, semi-urban and rural areas in central India representing parent–child pairs belonging to joint and nuclear families. Using an indigenously developed measure of family values the study revealed that ecological setting and generation significantly influenced the family value of positive interaction. The type of family emerged as a significant factor for three major values, that is, social order, manners and helping. The interaction of ecology, family type and generation were significant for the values of social order and helping. In general, the type of family and ecological setting yielded major influence in shaping values. The implications of the findings for parenting are discussed.
Women Empowerment as a Tool for Enhancement of Values in Education: An Historical Analysis
Authors: Rao D. Pulla
Published: March 2014

Education is a part and parcel of human life itself irrespective of the field of activity. Every field of human activity has developed its own value systems. Education has also accumulated its own value systems over a period of time. In order to make value education a powerful tool, education should be made more open, more reflective and more vocal with greater participation of teachers, students, parents and the society in deciding all major aspects of education.

So far, the education system in India is a closed one with outdated teacher training programmes and syllabi, heavy and mind bogging exercises with lots of paper work. There is little that a student can look into the society and learn and much less the relevance of his learning to the society. For most of the times, parents look at their children like scapegoats, since they cannot participate in their children’s education. Thus, in our country education itself has became a blunt and invalid tool. Therefore, education has lost its relevance to the social, economic, political, ethical, cultural and spiritual values of our country. Under such circumstances one cannot expect education to play the role of a most effective powerful tool that can influence human life.

Therefore, there is a need to examine which type of value systems we have to develop in our educational institutions in India, that are most suitable in our socio-religious, philosophical and historical background.
A coupled thermomechanical beam finite element for the simulation of shape memory alloy actuators
Authors: Solomou Alexandros G , Machairas Theodoros T , Saravanos Dimitris A
Published: March 2014

The proposed article describes the development of a new beam finite element for the coupled thermomechanical analysis of shape memory alloy actuators. The element is formulated, assuming coupled equilibrium equations for the thermoelastic stresses and thermal loads. Displacements and temperature are treated as internal degrees of freedom giving the ability to predict the coupled thermal–displacement response of a shape memory alloy beam. The constitutive shape memory alloy model of Lagoudas and coworkers is implemented in the formulation. A generalized beam theory is formulated assuming shear deformation with a cubic temperature field through the thickness. The new element is capable to simulate heat transfer phenomena, electric Joule heating as direct input, and heat convection effects. The coupling between mechanical and thermal equilibrium equations due to endothermic/exothermic martensitic transformation procedures is also included. Numerical results and evaluations of the developed beam element are presented for the thermomechanical response of shape memory alloy wire actuators and an adaptive strip subject to various types of applied thermal loading and heat convection conditions. The effect of coupling terms on the prediction of shape memory alloy actuator response is also evaluated.
Maternal Childhood Maltreatment and Offspring Emotional and Behavioral Problems
Authors: Rijlaarsdam Jolien , Stevens Gonneke W. J. M. , Jansen Pauline W. , Ringoot Ank P. , Jaddoe Vincent W. V. , Hofman Albert , Ayer Lynsay , Verhulst Frank C. , Hudziak James J. , Tiemeier Henning
Published: March 2014

This study examined hostility and harsh discipline of both mothers and fathers as potential mechanisms explaining the association between a maternal maltreatment history and her offspring’s internalizing and externalizing problems. Prospective data from fetal life to age 6 were collected from a total of 4,438 families participating in the Generation R Study. Maternal maltreatment was assessed during pregnancy using a self-administered questionnaire. Mothers and fathers each reported on their psychological distress and harsh discipline when the child was 3 years. Children’s internalizing and externalizing problems were assessed by parental reports and child interview at age 6. Findings from structural equation modeling showed that the association between a maternal maltreatment history and her offspring’s externalizing problems was explained by maternal hostility and harsh discipline and, at least partially, also by paternal hostility and harsh discipline. Child interview data provided support for both these indirect paths, with associations largely similar to those observed for parent reports.
Why Aren’t Evaluations Working and What to Do About It
Authors: Liket Kellie C. , Rey-Garcia Marta , Maas Karen E. H.
Published: March 2014

Nonprofit organizations are under great pressure to use evaluations to show that their programs “work” and that they are “effective.” However, empirical evidence indicates that nonprofits struggle to perform useful evaluations, especially when conducted under accountability pressures. An increasing body of evidence highlights the crucial role of a participatory negotiation process between nonprofits and stakeholders on the purpose and design of evaluations in achieving evaluation utility. However, conceptual confusion about the evaluation objectives, unclear evaluation purposes, a lack of appropriate evaluation questions, and normative ideas about superior evaluation designs and methods, complicate the process. In response, we provide practical conceptualizations of the central objectives of evaluations and propose a framework that can guide negotiation processes. It presents the relationships between the evaluation purpose, evaluation question, and the different levels of effects that should be measured. The selection of the evaluation method is contingent on the choices made within this framework.
Effect of mobile phone short text messages on glycaemic control in children with type 1 diabetes
Authors: Bin-Abbas Bassam , Jabbari Musleh , Al-Fares Abdullah , El-Dali Abdelmoneim , Al-Orifi Fahad
Published: March 2014

We conducted a feasibility study of a mobile phone messaging service for children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes. Two hundred children with type 1 diabetes took part in a six-month trial. The children were provided – through their parents – with daily information messages, with weekly interactive messages, and on request, with multimedia video messages about procedures related to diabetes care. During the study, approximately 30,000 information messages and 2800 interactive messages were sent. One month before the trial, the mean fasting blood glucose level of the children was 150 mg/dl. After the trial, the mean fasting blood glucose level was 133 mg/dl ( P < 0.001). There were also significant reductions in post prandial blood glucose level, HbA1c, frequency of simple hypoglycaemic attacks and frequency of blood glucose monitoring. A before and after questionnaire showed that the parents' knowledge of diabetes had improved significantly during the trial. Mobile phone text messaging offers a useful means of contact between clinic visits. The results of the trial suggest that it increases adherence to diabetes therapy and improves clinical outcomes in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes.
Experimental and numerical investigation on laser beam forming of steel sheets
Authors: Akinlabi Stephen A , Pietra Francesco , Akinlabi Esther T
Published: March 2014

Laser beam forming process being a non-contact process requires no hard tooling systems and presses. Hence, it is considered suitable for low-volume and high-variety production of sheet metal parts for different industrial applications. This paper reports on the experimental and finite element-based numerical investigation of the laser beam forming process. The experimental setup for the investigation includes an Nd: YAG laser with a maximum power of 4.4 kW and adjustable beam diameter. The L-27 Taguchi Orthogonal Array Design of Experiment was employed in this study in order to identify the variables that mostly influence the outcome of the experiment. The optimised process parameter window employed for the laser beam forming process was further classified into the minimum, medium and maximum parameter window settings. The finite element analysis was performed using the commercial package ANSYS to validate the experimental results. This investigation was able to validate the response related to deformation and identify the effect of the laser power on the bending angle for the mild steel sheets used in this study. The finite element models were parametrically developed using the ANSYS Parametric Design Language, the scripting language provided in ANSYS version 14.0. The maximum variation in the bending angle between the experiment and the finite element simulation was 9%, recorded at the maximum parameter setting during the laser beam forming process. The results showed that there was a strong correlation between the numerical and the experimental results.