bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Free Spaces as Organizational Weapons of the Weak
Authors: Rao Hayagreeva , Dutta Sunasir
Published: November 2012

Free spaces are arenas insulated from the control of elites in organizations and societies. A basic question is whether they incubate challenges to authority. We suggest that free spaces foster collective empowerment when they assemble large numbers of people, arouse intense emotion, trigger collective identities, and enable individuals to engage in costly collective action. We analyze challenges to authority that invite repression: mutinies of regiments in the East India Company’s Bengal Native Army in India in 1857. We take advantage of an exogenous source of variation in the availability of free spaces—religious festivals. We predict that mutinies are most likely to occur at or right after a religious festival and find that the hazard of mutiny declines with time since a festival. We expect community ties to offer alternate avenues of mobilization, such as when regiments were stationed close to the towns and villages from which they were recruited. Moreover, festivals are likely to be more potent instantiations of free spaces when regiments were exposed to an oppositional identity, such as a Christian mission. Yet even free spaces have a limited ability to trigger collective action, such as when the political opportunity structure is adverse and prospective participants are deterred by greater chances of failure. These predictions are supported by analyses of daily event-history data of mutinies in 1857, suggesting that free spaces are an organizational weapon of the weak and not a substitute for dissent.
The Aesthetics of the Financial Crisis
Authors: Davies Matt
Published: November 2012

The ways that financialization has contributed to the technocratic and antipolitical management of economies have become ever more evident in the wake of the financial crisis that commenced in the autumn of 2007. This bracketing and suspension of politics occurs in various ways but significantly, it does so through the obscuring of work as a moment of economic life. If economics has been complicit in this antipolitics, can an aesthetic approach to financialization shed light on how work is rendered invisible? This article analyzes four short film clips all distributed through YouTube to show not only how their visual and narrative elements organize subjectivities for an antipolitics of finance but also to find in the popular aesthetic a different “distribution of the sensible” that permits moments of suspension or rupture that can politicize financialized subjectivity and begin to recover a politics of work.
Cabasilas, the Divine Liturgy and Political Governance: A Polis as Liturgy
Authors: Bekos John
Published: November 2012

The truth of the Church corresponds to a ‘political’ ethic that is cultivated in the Divine Liturgy. To the extent that the Church is signified in the Divine Liturgy, the criterion for what is politically prudent should be sought in the Divine Liturgy. We will argue that such a pursuit leads to the designation of a governance ethics that concerns not only political and church leaders but also any Christian, or any person, who exercises ‘governance’ within the framework of his own roles and responsibilities. In the Divine Liturgy we do not simply have a conception of Church as polis but also the notion of any polis as liturgy.
The Practice of Christian Ethics: Mindfulness and Faith
Authors: Parsons Susan F.
Published: November 2012

The central thrust of this article is to prompt new consideration of how faith and reason are understood to be at work in the discipline of theological ethics. To bring into question contemporary assumptions, a close reading of Aristotle is undertaken to illuminate his understanding of phronesis as a uniquely self-involving way of thinking that is transformative of the thinker. Phronesis, which may be translated as mindfulness, is shown to distinguish what is essential to ethical thinking. This philosophical preparation may clear a way for theology likewise to be understood anew. Kierkegaard’s reflection on Abraham’s experience of faith in Fear and Trembling discloses how theology is the working out by means of phronesis of the salvation disclosed to faith in the believer’s soul. In these two phenomena—mindfulness and faith—lies what is essential to the practice of Christian ethics.
‘Irresistible impulse’: historicizing a judicial innovation in Australian insanity jurisprudence
Authors: Finnane Mark
Published: November 2012

In twentieth-century Australian criminal law a distinctive departure from the M’Naghten Rules developed as a critique of the discourse of reasoning and verdicts applying in the relevant English trials from the 1880s. The English verdict of ‘guilty but insane’ was criticized by the leading jurists as contradictory. In a sequence of influential judgments, the jurist Owen Dixon articulated an approach to the insanity defence that made room for a medico-legal discourse which broadened the possible referents of what it meant to ‘know’ the legality of an act, and also acknowledged the complex behavioural factors that might determine an act of homicide. This paper explores the shaping and significance of this departure and its comparative judicial, medical and social contexts. A concluding discussion considers whether the more flexible interpretation of the insanity defence implied by the direction of Dixon’s decisions made as much of a difference to frequency of use of the defence as the contemporaneous decline and eventual abolition of capital punishment.
Secret suffering: the victims of compulsory sterilization during National Socialism
Authors: Westermann Stefanie
Published: November 2012

From the second half of the 19th century, eugenics claimed the medical and social need to intervene in human reproduction. During National Socialism, 300,000–400,000 people in Germany were subjected to compulsory sterilization because they had psychological diseases, impairments and social behavioural problems, which were regarded as genetically determined. After the end of the Third Reich, these interventions were not recognized as National Socialist injustice, and the victims were initially excluded from ‘compensation’. As shown in letters and interviews, the victims of compulsory sterilization suffered physically and psychologically throughout their lives. In particular, feelings of social ‘inferiority’, and of shame and suffering from compulsory childlessness and broken relationships, are found in many of the sources examined.
Cohesion and Sports Teams
Authors: Pescosolido Anthony T. , Saavedra Richard
Published: November 2012

Cohesion has historically been considered one of the most important variables in the study of small group dynamics and has historically been one of the most frequently studied of group-level constructs. In this commentary we consider why and how group cohesion influences behavior in sports teams and why and how it operates differently in different types of teams. Specifically, we note that sports teams operate in extremely well-defined contexts, with much greater clarity in terms of goals, member roles, working procedures, available resources, and so forth, than most other types of teams. Consequently we suggest that while cohesion may be a valid construct for studying and analyzing sports teams, the relative lack of clear unambiguous context for most other types of teams reduces the explanatory power of cohesion for teams in other contexts.
Desperately Seeking Dissonance
Authors: Booth Andrew , Carroll Christopher , Ilott Irene , Low Lee Lan , Cooper Katy
Published: November 2012

Actively seeking the disconfirming or deviant case is properly regarded as a hallmark of trustworthiness in primary qualitative research. The need to subject emergent theory to such testing is no less important within qualitative systematic reviews. There is, as yet, little available guidance on how to implement such strategies. Few researchers have described the practicalities of seeking the disconfirming case. We survey the methodological literature to gain a better understanding of how systematic reviews of qualitative research handle the disconfirming case. We reflect on our own experience from three recent qualitative evidence syntheses. We describe how reviewers might actively manufacture opportunities to identify discrepant or refutational findings. We conclude by outlining possible methods by which a team might integrate active seeking of a disconfirming case within the overall review process.
Four Rs for urban high school reform: Re-envisioning, reculturation, restructuring, and remoralization
Authors: Hemmings Annette
Published: November 2012

A framework for urban public high school reform is presented for managing site-based change through re-envisioning, reculturation, restructuring, and remoralization. The four Rs for reform framework is elucidated through a qualitative study of a low-performing urban public high school that was transformed into a new more successful school. The article concludes with a discussion of how all four pieces of the reform framework must fit and work together before notable change can occur.
Living improvement 2: A case study of a secondary school in England
Authors: McGinity Ruth , Gunter Helen M
Published: November 2012

Building on a decade of a school–university partnership we report on a current project that is examining the development of a learning policy within Kingswood High School. We focus specifically on the development of a learning culture, and we examine how parents and children are working productively within the official policy. Using empirical data we reveal the existence of learning cultures that are out of alignment with this official policy, and how the school is using research to engage and understand this. Thinking productively about professional practice by using Arendt’s distinction between labour, work and action, we deploy a framework that identifies four main positions of a researching school. We identified that Kingswood is located in all of them, but it is their action within agenda setting that has the most potential for enabling them to engage productively with the communities they serve.
Diabetes in care homes: a cluster randomised controlled trial of resident education
Authors: Sinclair Alan J , Girling Alan J , Gadsby Roger , Bourdel-Marchasson Isabelle , Bayer Antony J
Published: November 2012

Introduction

Residents of care homes with diabetes are a vulnerable group, lacking comprehensive assessment, monitoring, and specialist access. This study aimed to determine whether a short-term patient centred intervention strategy might benefit people with diabetes living in residential care homes.

Methods

Residents with diabetes were recruited and randomised (by care home) to intervention (25 homes: 57 residents) or control (26 homes: 45 residents). The intervention consisted of a medical review and individualised resident educational programme. The control group received usual care. Measures of glycaemic control (fasting glucose and HbA1c), quality of life, functional ability, cognition, mood, and diabetes knowledge were collected at baseline and after 6 months.

Results

After 6 months the intervention group, compared with control, had better quality of life, mood and diabetes knowledge and a slight increase in HbA1c from a mean value of 6.84 % (1.54) to 7.49 % (1.82). Reports of hypoglycaemia were less at the end of the study in both groups.

Conclusions

The intervention improved patient-centred outcomes, with a small effect on glycaemic control. More research needs to be performed with care home residents to develop the evidence base for appropriate interventions in this neglected group of patients.
Using an integrated COC index and multilevel measurements to verify the care outcome of patients with multiple chronic conditions
Authors: Chan Chien-Lung , You Huey-Jen , Huang Hsin-Tsung , Ting Hsien-Wei
Published: November 2012

Background

The increasing prevalence of multiple chronic conditions has accentuated the importance of coordinating and integrating health care services. Patients with better continuity of care (COC) have a lower utilization rate of emergency department (ED) services, lower hospitalization and better care outcomes. Previous COC studies have focused on the care outcome of patients with a single chronic condition or that of physician-patient relationships; few studies have investigated the care outcome of patients with multiple chronic conditions. Using multi-chronic patients as subjects, this study proposes an integrated continuity of care (ICOC) index to verify the association between COC and care outcomes for two scopes of chronic conditions, at physician and medical facility levels.

Methods

This study used a dataset of 280,840 subjects, obtained from the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database (LHID 2005), compiled by the National Health Research Institutes, of the National Health Insurance Bureau of Taiwan. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used to integrate the indices of density, dispersion and sequence into ICOC to measure COC outcomes - the utilization rate of ED services and hospitalization. A Generalized Estimating Equations model was used to verify the care outcomes.

Results

We discovered that the higher the COC at medical facility level, the lower the utilization rate of ED services and hospitalization for patients; by contrast, the higher the COC at physician level, the higher the utilization rate of ED services (odds ratio > 1; Exp(β) = 2.116) and hospitalization (odds ratio > 1; Exp(β) = 1.688). When only those patients with major chronic conditions with the highest number of medical visits were considered, it was found that the higher the COC at both medical facility and physician levels, the lower the utilization rate of ED services and hospitalization.

Conclusions

The study shows that ICOC is more stable than single indices and it can be widely used to measure the care outcomes of different chronic conditions to accumulate empirical evidence. Concentrated care of multi-chronic patients by a single physician often results in unsatisfactory care outcomes. This highlights the need for referral mechanisms and integration of specialties inside or outside medical facilities, in order to optimize patient-centered care.
Oncology and the Internet: Regulatory Failure and Reform
Authors: Mackey Tim K. , Liang Bryan A.
Published: November 2012

The oncology drug shortage is exacerbated by current policy and governance failures of Internet regulation, now being exploited by illicit online drug sellers targeting vulnerable patients and providers.
Organic Weed Management in Field Crops with a Propane Flamer and Rotary Hoe
Authors: Taylor Erin C. , Renner Karen A. , Sprague Christy L.
Published: November 2012

The weed management needs of organic producers are unique because they rely primarily on cultural and physical management strategies. Recommendations regarding commonly used tools for weed management could benefit this sector of agriculture. The objectives of this research were to (1) determine the optimum time of day for propane flaming to achieve maximum weed reductions while minimizing corn damage; (2) assess whether flaming, rotary hoeing, or a combination of the two tools best manages early-season weeds without injuring dry beans; and (3) evaluate the use of growing degree days (GDD) to optimize rotary hoe timing. Experiments were carried out between 2006 and 2009 in Hickory Corners and East Lansing, MI. Flaming reduced broadleaf weed densities by at least 82% when done in the morning to midafternoon but only reduced densities by 58% when weeds were flamed in the evening. Common lambsquarters, redroot pigweed, and velvetleaf were easier to control by flaming than common ragweed and common purslane. Flaming did not reduce grass weed densities. When comparing flaming and rotary hoeing, the two treatments that achieved the highest level of weed control and highest dry bean yields were flaming prior to bean emergence followed by two rotary hoeings and rotary hoeing three times (no flaming). However, the added cost of the flamer may only be justified when wet conditions make rotary hoeing ineffective. Flaming dry beans POST resulted in significant injury and yield reductions of 60%; therefore this practice is not recommended. Timing rotary hoe passes every 300 GDD (base 3.3 C) from the time of soybean or dry bean planting resulted in fewer passes compared with the 7-d or 150 GDD treatments, while maintaining similar levels of weed control and yields similar to the weed-free treatment in 1 of 2 yr for each crop.
Heated Optical Fiber for Distributed Soil‐Moisture Measurements: A Lysimeter Experiment
Authors: Ciocca Francesco , Lunati Ivan , Van de Giesen Nick , Parlange Marc B.
Published: November 2012

An Actively Heated Fiber Optics (AHFO) method to estimate soil moisture is tested and the analysis technique improved on. The measurements were performed in a lysimeter uniformly packed with loam soil with variable water content profiles. In the first meter of the soil profile, 30 m of fiber optic cable were installed in a 12 loops coil. The metal sheath armoring the fiber cable was used as an electrical resistance heater to generate a heat pulse, and the soil response was monitored with a Distributed Temperature Sensing (DTS) system. We study the cooling following three continuous heat pulses of 120 s at 36 W m−1 by means of long‐time approximation of radial heat conduction. The soil volumetric water contents were then inferred from the estimated thermal conductivities through a specifically calibrated model relating thermal conductivity and volumetric water content. To use the pre‐asymptotic data we employed a time correction that allowed the volumetric water content to be estimated with a precision of 0.01–0.035 (m3 m−3). A comparison of the AHFO measurements with soil‐moisture measurements obtained with calibrated capacitance‐based probes gave good agreement for wetter soils [discrepancy between the two methods was less than 0.04 (m3 m−3)]. In the shallow drier soils, the AHFO method underestimated the volumetric water content due to the longer time required for the temperature increment to become asymptotic in less thermally conductive media [discrepancy between the two methods was larger than 0.1 (m3 m−3)]. The present work suggests that future applications of the AHFO method should include longer heat pulses, that longer heating and cooling events are analyzed, and, temperature increments ideally be measured with higher frequency.
Field Validation of a Cosmic‐Ray Neutron Sensor Using a Distributed Sensor Network
Authors: Franz Trenton E. , Zreda M. , Rosolem R. , Ferre T.P.A.
Published: November 2012

With continued refinement in land surface model resolution the need for accurate and continuous soil moisture datasets at intermediate spatial scales has become critical for improved meteorological and hydrological prediction. The current availability of such data is inadequate. Here, we present a comparison of two datasets that provide average soil moisture over an area hundreds of meters squared in a dryland ecosystem in southern Arizona. One dataset is from a high‐resolution soil moisture network of 180 time‐domain transmission probes; the other is from a cosmic‐ray neutron sensor placed at the center of the study area. We find the cosmic‐ray neutron counts correlate well with spatially averaged point measurements of soil moisture over a 6‐mo period with an RMSE of 0.0165 m3 m−3 and percent error of less than 20%. Neutron transport simulations suggest our understanding of the effective sensor depth in the presence of vertical variations in water content is adequate. We find that daily evapotranspiration water fluxes inferred from cosmic‐ray measurements agree with previously published eddy‐covariance measured values at the study site, suggesting that the cosmic‐ray neutron sensor may be able to provide flux measurements of the near surface at intermediate spatial scales.
Thermotolerant Acanthamoeba spp. isolated from therapeutic hot springs in northwestern Iran
Authors: Solgi Rahmat , Niyyati Maryam , Haghighi Ali , Taghipour Niloofar , Tabaei Seyyed Javad Seyyed , Eftekhar Mohamad , Nazemalhosseini Mojarad Ehsan
Published: November 2012

This study was conducted to address the distribution of Acanthamoeba genotypes in therapeutic hot springs in Iran. Sixty water and sediment samples were collected from bicarbonate, sulphur, and sodium chloride thermal springs in the northwest. All hot springs examined are used mainly for health purposes in Iran. Acanthamoeba were identified by both morphology and PCR (polymerase chain reaction). Genotype identification was based on the sequencing of a highly variable and informative region of Diagnostic Fragment 3 (stem 29–1 of 18S rRNA gene) within Acanthamoeba-specific amplimer (ASA.S1). Twenty percent of hot springs were contaminated with thermotolerant Acanthamoeba belonging to the potentially pathogenic T4 and T3 genotypes. A high number (91.7%) of strains showed growth at 37 °C, and eight isolates showed growth at 42 °C. A single isolate (HSNW2) was detected in waters at 70 °C. The presence of thermotolerant Acanthamoeba highlights a risk factor for susceptible individuals, as Acanthamoeba-related keratitis continues to rise in Iran. Periodic surveillance of thermal waters as well as improved filtration and disinfection is recommended to prevent disease related to pathogenic Acanthamoeba. This is the first comprehensive molecular study of Acanthamoeba genotypes in hot springs in Iran and the first to report the occurrence of the T3 genotype (corresponding to Acanthamoeba griffini) in thermal water sources in this country.
The effect of poultry manure application rate and AlCl3 treatment on bacterial fecal indicators in runoff
Authors: Brooks J. P. , Adeli A. , McLaughlin M. R. , Miles D. M.
Published: November 2012

Increasing costs associated with inorganic fertilizer have led to widespread use of broiler litter. Proper land application, typically limiting nutrient loss, is essential to protect surface water. This study was designed to evaluate litter-borne microbial runoff (heterotrophic plate count bacteria, staphylococci, Escherichia coli, enterococci, and Clostridium perfringens) while applying typical nutrient-control methods. Field studies were conducted in which plots with high and low litter rates, inorganic fertilizer, AlCl3-treated litter, and controls were rained on five times using a rain generator. Overall, microbial runoff from poultry litter applied plots was consistently greater (2–5 log10 plot−1) than controls. No appreciable effect on microbial runoff was noted from variable litter application rate or AlCl3 treatments, though rain event, not time, significantly affected runoff load. C. perfringens and staphylococci runoff were consistently associated with poultry litter application, during early rain events, while other indicators were unreliable. Large microbial runoff pulses were observed, ranging from 102 to 1010 CFU plot−1; however, only a small fraction of litter-borne microbes were recoverable in runoff. This study indicated that microbial runoff from litter-applied plots can be substantial, and that methods intended to reduce nutrient losses do not necessarily reduce microbial runoff.
Removal and relationships of microbial indicators in a water treatment and reclamation facility
Authors: Alcalde Laura , Folch Montserrat , Tapias Josefina C.
Published: November 2012

A wastewater treatment and reclamation facility in north-east Spain was monitored over 1 year to determine the occurrence and concentrations of different microbial indicators (Escherichia coli, fecal enterococci, somatic bacteriophages and spores of sulfite-reducing clostridia). The removal of the indicators and its relationships through the wastewater treatment and reclamation trains were evaluated. The results obtained show that the reclamation treatments evaluated present a different efficiency in indicator microorganisms' removal depending on the type of microorganism. The E. coli and enterococci present an average reduction slightly higher than the other indicators, followed by somatic bacteriophages and spores of sulfite-reducing clostridia. The Spearman's correlations indicate that it is not suitable to use any of the bacterial indicators evaluated to predict the content of virus or spores of sulfite-reducing clostridia. Therefore, in order to evaluate the microbiological risk of the reclaimed effluent use, it is necessary to monitor the three types of indicator microorganisms (bacteria, virus and protozoa).
Viscoelasticity and Damage Model for Creep Behavior of Historical Masonry Structures
Authors: Roca Pere , Cervera Miguel , Pelá Luca , Clemente Roberto , Chiumenti Michele
Published: November 2012

This paper presents a continuum model for the simulation of the viscous effects and the long-term damage ac-cumulation in masonry structures. The rheological model is based on a generalized Maxwell chain representation with a constitutive law utilizing a limited number of internal variables. Thanks to its computational efficiency, this approach is suitable for the analysis of large and complex structures. In the paper, the viscous and damage models are presented and their coupling is discussed. The FE simulation of the construction process of the representative bay of Mallorca Cathedral is presented, together with the analysis of the long-term effects. The parameters of the model are tentatively calibrated on the basis of the time-dependent viscous deformations detected during the cathedral monitoring.
An integer linear programming formulation and genetic algorithm for the maximum set splitting problem
Authors: Lazovic Bojana , Maric Miroslav , Filipovic Vladimir , Savic Aleksandar
Published: November 2012

We consider the maximum set splitting problem (MSSP). For the first time an
integer linear programming (ILP) formulation is presented and validity of
this formulation is given. We propose a genetic algorithm (GA) that uses the
binary encoding and the standard genetic operators adapted to the problem.
The overall performance of the GA implementation is improved by a caching
technique. Experimental results are performed on two sets of instances from
the literature: minimum hitting set and Steiner triple systems. The results
show that CPLEX optimally solved all hitting set instances up to 500 elements
and 10000 subsets. Also, it can be seen that GA routinely reached all optimal
solutions up to 500 elements and 50000 subsets. The Steiner triple systems
seems to be much more challenging for maximum set splitting problems since
the CPLEX solved to optimality, within two hours, only two instances up to 15
elements and 35 subsets. For these instances GA reached all solutions as
CPLEX but in much smaller running time.
On semantics of a term calculus for classical logic
Authors: Likavec Silvia , Lescanne Pierre
Published: November 2012

The calculus of Curien and Herbelin was introduced to provide the
Curry-Howard correspondence for classical logic. The terms of this calculus
represent derivations in the sequent calculus proof system and reduction
reflects the process of cut-elimination. We investigate some properties of
two well-behaved subcalculi of untyped calculus of Curien and Herbelin,
closed under the call-by-name and the call-by-value reduction, respectively.
Continuation semantics is given using the category of negated domains and
Moggi?s Kleisli category over predomains for the continuation monad.
Soundness theorems are given for both versions thus relating operational and
denotational semantics. A thorough overview of the work on continuation
semantics is given.
New Evidence on an Old Question: Does Lowballing Undermine Auditors' Independence or their Clients' Investment Decisions?
Authors: Fatemi Darius J.
Published: November 2012

This paper summarizes Fatemi (2012), which reports the results of an experiment exploring the influence of audit fees on auditor and client decisions. The results indicate that clients are more likely to make choices that maximize a firm's value to shareholders when evidence of audit fee lowballing exists. When clients exhibit a past history of misstatements, auditors exhibit higher levels of skepticism as evidenced by an increased frequency of testing. Auditors' interpretations of test results reveal that they are subject to the psychological effect of motivated reasoning in the presence of lowballing when they are hired by their clients (but not when hired by investors), in that they place more confidence in the quality of tests that support their clients than in equivalent tests that are unsupportive. This article explains these findings and discusses their implications.
Conceptualizing vigilantism
Authors: Candy Graham
Published: November 2012

Thomas G. Kirsch and Tilo Gratz, eds. 2010. Domesticating vigilantism in Africa. Woodbridge and
Rochester: James Currey. 170 pages.

David Pratten and Atreyee Sen, eds. 2008. Global vigilantes. New York: Columbia University Press.
448 pages.
America in Time: Aphoristic Writing in Jean Baudrillard's America
Authors: Laügt Élodie
Published: November 2012

This article, focusing on America (1986), analyses the way in which Baudrillard uses aphoristic statements in order to propose a response, in the form of parody both of America and of its mediatization, to the proliferation of signs and loss of referentiality which characterize hyperreality. The text in question might be among the most controversial by its author due partly to its non-discursive style and the way in which it offers a punchy critique of America. It raises the question of legitimacy that the aphorism bears at its heart as a self-sufficient authoritative statement, as well as the use of irony. This article analyses the way in which Baudrillard's use of the name ‘America’ both refers to a place and functions as the title of a book. This allows us to question the notion of identity both in terms of identification and of sharing, thereby enabling us to reconsider the notion of contemporaneity.
Climate—A New Open Access Journal Covering the Complex, Multi-Disciplinary Climate Research Challenge
Authors: Mölders Nicole
Published: November 2012

Climate has changed over the Earth’s past, is changing continuously and will do so in the future due to external and internal drivers. Some external drivers, such as the astronomic constellation of the Earth-sun system and continental shifts, have led to slow changes over long time scales. While others, for instance volcanic eruptions, may lead to fast, quasi-abrupt changes with impacts on climate over a limited time. Internal drivers like albedo, or the greenhouse effect are parts and processes of the climate system itself that may again change the climate at comparatively shorter time scales than most external drivers. [...]
Combined Optimal Sizing and Control for a Hybrid Tracked Vehicle
Authors: Zou Yuan , Sun Fengchun , Hu Xiaosong , Guzzella Lino , Peng Huei
Published: November 2012

The optimal sizing and control of a hybrid tracked vehicle is presented and solved in this paper. A driving schedule obtained from field tests is used to represent typical tracked vehicle operations. Dynamics of the diesel engine-permanent magnetic AC synchronous generator set, the lithium-ion battery pack, and the power split between them are modeled and validated through experiments. Two coupled optimizations, one for the plant parameters, forming the outer optimization loop and one for the control strategy, forming the inner optimization loop, are used to achieve minimum fuel consumption under the selected driving schedule. The dynamic programming technique is applied to find the optimal controller in the inner loop while the component parameters are optimized iteratively in the outer loop. The results are analyzed, and the relationship between the key parameters is observed to keep the optimal sizing and control simultaneously.
Supporting Trust and Privacy with an Identity-Enabled Architecture
Authors: Sarma Amardeo , Girao Joao
Published: November 2012

Cost reduction and a vastly increased potential to create new services, such as via the proliferation of the Cloud, have led to many more players and “end points”. With many of them being new entrants, possibly short-lived, the question of how to handle trust and privacy in this new context arises. In this paper, we specifically look at the underlying infrastructure that connects end-points served by these players, which is an essential part of the overall architecture to enable trust and privacy. We present an enhanced architecture that allows real people, objects and services to reliably interact via an infrastructure providing assured levels of trust.
Premenstrual Symptoms in Dysmenorrheic College Students: Prevalence and Relation to Vitamin D and Parathyroid Hormone Levels
Authors: Obeidat Bayan A. , Alchalabi Haifa A. , Abdul-Razzak Khalid K. , Al-Farras Mudhaffar I.
Published: November 2012

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of premenstrual symptoms (PMS) due to primary dysmenorrhea among a sample of university female students, and to explore possible association with vitamin D and parathyroid (PTH) levels, as well as frequency of consumption of dairy products. Design: A cross-sectional study. Setting: One Jordanian university. Subjects: A total of 177 female students aged between 18 and 24 years who experienced primary dysmenorrhea participated in the study and completed a self administered questionnaire to collect information concerning demographics, menstruation- related information, associated specified premenstrual symptoms, and consumption of dairy products. Plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin vitamin D level and intact parathyroid hormone level were measured. Results: Of the 177 participants 91.5% had two or more symptoms among which fatigue, mood swings, anxiety, abdominal bloating, and depression were the most prevalent symptoms. There was no evident association between presence of symptoms and vitamin D status, PTH level or dairy products consumption. Headaches and social withdrawal were significantly lower in those women who consumed high amounts of dairy products. Conclusion: Premenstrual symptoms are very common in young women with primary dysmenorrhea. PMS has no relation to levels of vitamin D, parathyroid hormone or dairy products consumption. Headache and social withdrawal may be affected by dairy product consumption.
Integral Dose and Radiation-Induced Secondary Malignancies: Comparison between Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy and Three-Dimensional Conformal Radiotherapy
Authors: D'Arienzo Marco , Masciullo Stefano , Sanctis Vitaliana , Osti Mattia , Chiacchiararelli Laura , Enrici Riccardo
Published: November 2012

The aim of the present paper is to compare the integral dose received by non-tumor tissue (NTID) in stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) with modified LINAC with that received by three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT), estimating possible correlations between NTID and radiation-induced secondary malignancy risk. Eight patients with intrathoracic lesions were treated with SBRT, 23 Gy × 1 fraction. All patients were then replanned for 3D-CRT, maintaining the same target coverage and applying a dose scheme of 2 Gy × 32 fractions. The dose equivalence between the different treatment modalities was achieved assuming α/β = 10Gy for tumor tissue and imposing the same biological effective dose (BED) on the target (BED = 76Gy10). Total NTIDs for both techniques was calculated considering α/β = 3Gy for healthy tissue. Excess absolute cancer risk (EAR) was calculated for various organs using a mechanistic model that includes fractionation effects. A paired two-tailed Student t-test was performed to determine statistically significant differences between the data (p ≤ 0.05). Our study indicates that despite the fact that for all patients integral dose is higher for SBRT treatments than 3D-CRT (p = 0.002), secondary cancer risk associated to SBRT patients is significantly smaller than that calculated for 3D-CRT (p = 0.001). This suggests that integral dose is not a good estimator for quantifying cancer induction. Indeed, for the model and parameters used, hypofractionated radiotherapy has the potential for secondary cancer reduction. The development of reliable secondary cancer risk models seems to be a key issue in fractionated radiotherapy. Further assessments of integral doses received with 3D-CRT and other special techniques are also strongly encouraged.
Ivabradine: An Intelligent Drug for the Treatment of Ischemic Heart Disease
Authors: Riccioni Graziano
Published: November 2012

Heart rate (HR) is a precisely regulated variable, which plays a critical role in health and disease. Elevated resting HR is a significant predictor of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in the general population and patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD). β-blocking drugs exert negative effects on regional myocardial blood flow and function when HR reduction is eliminated by atrial pacing; calcium channel antagonists (CCAs) functionally antagonize coronary vasoconstriction mediated through α-adreno-receptors and are thus devoid of this undesired effect, but the compounds are nevertheless negative inotropes. From these observations derives the necessity to find alternative, more selective drugs to reduce HR through inhibition of specific electrical current (If). Ivabradine (IVA) is a novel specific HR-lowering agent that acts in sinus atrial node (SAN) cells by selectively inhibiting the pacemaker If current in a dose-dependent manner by slowing the diastolic depolarization slope of SAN cells, and by reducing HR at rest during exercise in humans. Coronary artery diseases (CAD) represent the most common cause of death in middle–aged and older adults in European Countries. Most ischemic episodes are triggered by an increase in HR, that induces an imbalance between myocardial oxygen delivery and consumption. IVA, a selective and specific inhibitor of the If current which reduced HR without adverse hemodynamic effects, has clearly and unequivocally demonstrated its efficacy in the treatment of chronic stable angina pectoris (CSAP) and myocardial ischemia with optimal tolerability profile due to selective interaction with If channels. The aim of this review is to point out the usefulness of IVA in the treatment of ischemic heart disease.
Maghemite Intercalated Montmorillonite as New Nanofillers for Photopolymers
Authors: Tarablsi Bassam , Delaite Christelle , Brendle Jocelyne , Croutxe-Barghorn Celine
Published: November 2012

In this work, maghemite intercalated montmorillonite (γFe2O3-MMT)/polymer nanocomposites loaded with 1 or 2 wt.% of nanofillers were obtained by photopolymerization of difunctional acrylate monomers. The γFe2O3-MMT nanofillers were prepared by a new method based on the in situ formation of maghemite in the interlayer space of Fe-MMT using a three step process. X-ray diffraction (XRD), chemical analysis, TG/DTA and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) characterization of these nanofillers indicated the efficiency of the synthesis. When following the kinetics of the photopolymerization of diacrylate-γFe2O3-MMT nanocomposites using FTIR spectroscopy no significant inhibition effect of the nanofillers was observed at a loading up to 2 wt.%. These innovative nanocomposites exhibit improved mechanical properties compared to the crude polymer.
Measuring Inter-observer Agreement in Contour Delineation of Medical Imaging in a Dummy Run Using Fleiss’ Kappa
Authors: Schimek-Jasch T. , Nestle U. , Rücker G.
Published: November 2012

Background: In medical imaging used for planning of radiation therapy, observers delineate contours of a treatment volume in a series of images of uniform slice thickness.

Objective: To summarize agreement in contouring between an arbitrary number of observers by a single number, we generalized the kappa index proposed by Zijdenbos et al. (1994).

Methods: Observers characterized voxels by allocating them to one of two categories, inside or outside the contoured region. Fleiss’ kappa was used to measure association between n indistinguishable observers. Given the number Vi of voxels contoured by exactly i observers (i = 1, …, n), the resulting overall kappa is representable as a ratio of weighted sums of the Vi .

Results: Overall kappa was applied to analyze inter-center variations in a multicenter trial on radiotherapy planning in patients with locally advanced lung cancer. A contouring dummy run was performed within the quality assurance program. Contouring was done twice, once before and once after a training program. Observer agreement was enhanced from 0.59 (with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of 0.51 – 0.67) to 0.69 (95% CI 0.59 – 0.78)

Conclusion: By contrast to average pairwise indices, overall kappa measures observer agreement for more than two observers using the full information about overlapping volumes, while not distinguishing between observers. It is particularly adequate for measuring observer agreement when identification of observers is not possible or desirable and when there is no gold standard.
Is it Betrayal Aversion or Regret Aversion ?
Authors: Aharon Itzhak
Published: November 2012

Résumé Les échanges économiques et sociaux se produisent souvent entre des personnes étrangères les unes aux autres et qui ne peuvent donc pas se reposer sur une histoire commune ou sur la perspective de futures interactions dans le but d’établir une confiance mutuelle. Les théoriciens des jeux formalisent ce problème en termes de « jeux en un coup » (une seule période) - comme peut l’être le « jeu de la confiance » - et prédisent que la non-coopération est l’équilibre théorique de ce jeu dans la mesure où le premier joueur, ne pouvant attendre que le second joueur rétribue de manière réciproque la confiance qu’il aurait mise en lui, est contraint à ne pas investir. Bohnet et Zeckhauser (2004) proposent que, du fait d’une aversion à la trahison, les individus préfèrent éviter des situations dans lesquelles ils pourraient être trahis. Nous développons l’argument selon lequel l’émergence d’un tel comportement peut être également due à une forme d’aversion au regret. Classification JEL : A12, A13, D81.
Trajectoires et réseau des écrivains sur le Web
Authors: Beaudouin Valérie
Published: November 2012

Résumé La reconstitution du réseau des sites et blogs du milieu littéraire montre que coexistent pour les écrivains deux modalités de présence sur le Web : simple vitrine de promotion pour les uns, ressource pour faire réseau et pour expérimenter des formes d’écritures nouvelles pour les autres. Ces derniers forment un réseau dense d’écrivains interconnectés qui cherche à modifier les frontières de la littérature. Ce réseau invente des modèles alternatifs de revues et de maisons d’éditions numériques pour donner visibilité et marché aux productions numériques. Nous voyons ainsi comment un secteur de création se reconfigure avec les technologies du numérique et force la filière traditionnelle du livre à repenser son modèle. Nous montrons en creux, en reconstituant les trajectoires d’écritures, le coût technique et social de cet engagement dans le numérique.
La traduction des échantillons biologiques : une amplification de la vie privée ?
Authors: Dufresne Martin , Robert Dominique
Published: November 2012

Résumé Cette contribution porte sur l’articulation entre la vie privée et la justice criminelle. Nous nous intéressons à l’enquête policière et à sa mobilisation de la technologie d’identification génétique. Il est courant de concevoir la vie privée en tant qu’attribut de l’individu qui précèderait la vie sociale, telle une substance que chacun possède et qu’il faut préserver. Vu ainsi, l’avènement de la technologie d’identification génétique dans la justice criminelle paraît être une force d’érosion de la vie privée. Or, inspirés de la sociologie de la traduction, nous suggérons de reconsidérer cette lecture de l’innovation technologique. À partir d’une enquête de terrain menée au Canada, nous avons retracé le parcours suivi par les substances biologiques, de leur prélèvement à leur transformation en profil génétique. Nous soutenons qu’il est possible et heuristique de voir la vie privée en tant que production socio-technique contingente. Cette conception nous permet de sortir, en partie, des impasses du paradigme dominant de la vie privée et d’un constructivisme relativiste.
Le travail de care des hôtesses de bar au Japon
Authors: Parreñas Rhacel Salazar , Baker John
Published: November 2012

Résumé L’article montre que le travail de divertissement dans des bars à hôtesses n’est pas juste un travail sexuel non qualifié, mais implique au contraire la culture du travail de care pour soutenir la virilité des clients. L’article est basé sur trois mois d’observation participante dans un club d’hôtesses à Tokyo et 56 entretiens approfondis avec des hôtesses migrantes philippines.
Dewey et la centralité du travail
Authors: Renault Emmanuel
Published: November 2012

Résumé John Dewey, qui compte parmi les principales figures du pragmatisme américain, est l’un des rares auteurs classiques à avoir défendu l’idée d’une centralité du travail. Cet article s’efforce de restituer les thèses et les arguments qui conduisent chez lui à accorder au travail une centralité épistémologique, psychologique, sociale et politique. Les objectifs de l’article sont doubles : d’une part, préciser le sens que peut recevoir l’idée de centralité du travail et les différentes manières dont elle peut être défendue ; d’autre part, contribuer à modifier l’image que les sciences sociales francophones donnent du pragmatisme deweyien.
High Performance Work Systems as an Enabling Structure for Self-organized Learning Processes
Authors: Wallner Thomas , Menrad Martin
Published: November 2012

High Performance Work Systems (HPWSs) as a new way of organizing work in general and of production work in particular provide an environment, where self-organized learning

processes are enabled and fostered. In an extensive research project in 2 major Austrian manufacturing companies we currently investigate the applicability and the effects of HPWS including issues of learning and knowledge management. In this contribution we present the results of the first phase of this project discussing early empirical findings of an exploratory nature.
Information Privacy
Authors: White Garry L. , Mediavilla Francis A. Méndez , Shah Jaymeen R.
Published: November 2012

In the Web dependent world, companies must respect and protect individuals’ information privacy. Companies develop and implement corporate information privacy policies to comply with the domestic and international information privacy laws and regulations. This paper investigates: (a) the approach used by multinational and domestic companies to develop and implement corporate information privacy policies; and (b) the perception of corporate managers/professionals toward information privacy legislation and secondary use of personally identifiable information (PII) that organizations collect. A survey was conducted to collect data from corporate CEOs, managers, and technical professionals of national and multinational companies. Findings indicate the following: 1) Views regarding the practicality and effectiveness of information privacy legislations are similar for respondents from the national and multinational companies. 2) Respondents are undecided about whether the privacy laws of the United States and foreign countries are equally restrictive. 3) Multinational companies do not favor developing and implementing uniform information privacy policies or different information privacy policies across countries of operations. 4) Respondents strongly agreed that unauthorized secondary use of personal information is unacceptable.