bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Hospitality of the Mouth and the Homophonic Kiss: David Melnick's Men in Aïda
Authors: Reynolds Sean
Published: February 2012

This essay explores the erotic and "perverse" undercurrents of homophonic translation by looking at David Melnick's 1983 Men in Aida , a strict homophone of Homer's Iliad into English. In order to build a foundational vocabulary for the homophonic as a translation, this essay turns to Walter Benjamin"s "The Task of the Translator" and Derrida's "The Tower of Babel," both of which engage the problem of translation as separate from semantic reproduction and which move translation towards an ethics of contact, namely in the "adjoining" of translation to the original as fragments. In Melnick's homophonic translation we see rising out of the ground of translation an act of affection in which two tongues turn "each toward [the] other" out of an internal incompletion. Proceeding from Benjamin's argument that "the translation touches the original in a fleeting manner and only at an infinitely small point of meaning," which Derrida extends into the "caress" of translation, this essay argues for a homophonic kiss of translation, the translator's desire to move his mouth, trans-historically, with another. Further, Melnick's homophonic kiss places itself upon the "infinitely small point" of the proper name, that point most resistant to translatability. By refusing to move on from the "fleeting" encounter of the kiss, Melnick extends translation into a perverted oral fixation which continues to "call out" to the original by its proper name.
Material Deviance: Theorizing Queer Objecthood
Authors: Herring Scott
Published: February 2012

Using the cable television show Hoarders as its primary case study, this essay offers a theory of "material deviance" that fuses a primary interest of material culture studies—the social status of objects—with a central concern of queer studies—the roles that deviance and normalization play in social management. Placing these two disciplines together enables us to interrogate supposedly abnormal uses of material cultures, uses that are seen as abnormal not only in terms of their sexual object choice. This disciplinary conjunction allows us to scrutinize how object pathology and aberrant object conduct such as hoarding can upset normative social boundaries. The argument consequently teases out aspects of non-normativity present in material culture studies and aspects of material dissidence featured in queer studies. It charts a provisional theory for non-normative material relations to consider how materiality queers individuals beyond sexual identity, and it simultaneously tracks suspect and pleasurable queer object relations inherent in contemporary material practices such as extreme accumulation.
Mental Competence or Capacity to Form a Will: An Anthropological Approach
Authors: Doorn Neelke
Published: February 2012

Abstract:
Because of the concern for abuse of compulsory admission and involuntary treatment, the question of how to assess mental competence is a topic of ongoing debate. The literature seems to focus on empirical approaches, thereby overlooking the lack of conceptual clearness. This article describes an anthropological reflection on the concept of competence. Contrary to the current approach within medical ethics, this conceptualization of competence is based on positive autonomy. In this article, the question of mental competence is linked to the patient’s ability to respond to a given situation in coherence with what he values in life. Based on Frankfurt’s real self view to responsibility, this approach is further elaborated. The human capacity for self-reflection, including the power to act upon it, plays a crucial role in this view. If a patient lacks this capacity or if he otherwise fails to conform his (first-order) will to his deeper motives and values, his will does not seem to reflect his real self and he cannot be deemed fully responsible for it. As such, mental incompetence could be considered an impairment of one’s capacity for responsibility. In the interaction between the physician and the patient, more attention should be paid to fostering this capacity instead of the assessment thereof.
The Convergence of European Mortality in Both Sexes in the Near Future: A Spatio-Temporal Approach
Authors: Álvaro-Meca Alejandro , Debón Ana , Hernandez Valentín , Gil-Prieto Ruth , Gil de Miguel Ángel
Published: February 2012

Mortality has decreased in all the countries of the European Union during the last century, presenting similar patterns within the change of mortality. Despite these similar trends, there are still considerable differences in the levels of mortality of these countries and between men and women. The aim of this article is to adjust and predict mortality and life expectancy at birth in both sexes within 16 countries of the European Union, modifying the Lee-Carter model by means of the inclusion of a spatial component. Mortality is decreasing within these countries, causing the historical difference between both sexes in the years of the projection to disappear. But differences among the countries of the study in mortality levels remain.
Louis Brandeis and the Rhetoric of Transactional Morality
Authors: Stob Paul
Published: February 2012

Progressive reformers frequently spoke a moral language, bringing abstract moral laws to bear on the social, economic, and political turmoil of the early twentieth century. However, this form of moral discourse often proved ineffective for grasping the complexities of the time. In this essay I turn to Louis Brandeis’s progressive advocacy to uncover an alternative form of moral speech, one that was better attuned to the changing nature of society. As I argue, Brandeis articulated what one might call “transactional morality,” crafting a rhetoric that hinged upon the interconnection of morality, economics, and democratic citizenship. By infusing his moral speech with economic terminology and an abiding concern for civic participation, Brandeis directed the nation’s attention to the moral costs and benefits of an emerging industrial democracy. The result was a form of moral engagement that not only avoided the problems other progressives encountered but also reconfigured morality in response to radical social change.
From Romanticism to Colonial Pragmatics: Malay Language and Literature Studies in Germany 1800–1945
Authors: Warnk Holger
Published: February 2012

This article deals with the various approaches of German-speaking scholars towards Malay language and literature studies from c.1800 until the end of World War II. Early German scholars in the romantic age tended to impose their view of European peoples and cultures on the native populations of the Malay Archipelago. Thus, romantic notions of ‘folksongs’ or ‘original poetry’ strongly dominated the writings of this time, the majority of these authors being armchair scholars. In the late nineteenth century the first university chairs of East Asian studies were established; the most important were held by Georg Conon von der Gabelentz in Leipzig (East Asian Studies) and Adolf Bastian (Social Anthropology) in Berlin. In 1919 Otto Dempwolff became professor of ‘Indonesian and South Seas Languages’ at the University of Hamburg. Both Bastian and Dempwolff had travelled widely and had worked in Asia and elsewhere. Thus their data were based on personal observations and are still important works in the field of Malay studies. Finally, from the 1890s up to the 1930s a large number of Malay language books were published chiefly by and for German planters in Sumatra and Java. These books deliver not only fascinating insights into day-to-day conversation with plantation workers, but also social relations between planters and their workforce.
Constructing Outsiders: The Discursive Framing of Access in University Diversity Policies
Authors: Iverson Susan V.
Published: February 2012

This article investigates how discourses circulating in diversity policies reflect and produce perceptions about diversity in higher education. This study, utilizing the method of policy discourse analysis, examines 21 diversity action plans issued at 20 U.S. land-grant universities to understand how these policy documents frame diversity. Analysis revealed dominant discourses of access that construct images of the diverse person as an outsider . Findings suggest that well-intentioned attempts to create a more inclusive campus climate may unwittingly reinforce practices that support exclusion and inequality.
Memory Matter: Jesús Moncada's Phenomenology of Eidetic Recollection
Authors: Viestenz William
Published: February 2012

Critics often view Jesús Moncada's novels, particularly Camí de sirga and Estremida memòria as archives of collective memory meant to resuscitate the author's native village of Mequinensa, which was leveled in 1971 due to the construction of the Riba-roja dam on the Ebro River. With a particular focus on Camí de sirga, I consider Moncada's treatment of memory from a phenomenological perspective that regards physical objects rooted in a particular geographical locus as important containers of mnemonic traces. My position, therefore, complicates popular theories of memory by arguing that subjective recollective experience is ineluctably altered once an external object is disconnected from its historical referents. I additionally place shifting views on localism and the conversion of speed into an ontology as important antecedents to Moncada's conception of memory within the text, thereby analyzing the relationship between socioeconomic context and diegetic thematization.
Breaking the Circle: Le Crime de Monsieur Lange and the Contemporary Illegibility of the Radical Text
Authors: O'Shaughnessy Martin
Published: February 2012

This article approaches Le Crime de Monsieur Lange (1935) in two related ways. Firstly, it shows how, responding to the entry of history into Renoir's frame, shot in "deep time", the film is structured, not by any sense of inevitability, but by a mise-en-scène of competing possibilities. Secondly, looking at important recent readings of the film, and drawing on Alain Badiou's writings, it asks whether we can still respond to truly radical texts without distancing ourselves from them or making them relativize their own positions, particularly in relation to political violence. Particular attention is paid to the murder sequence which, in its mise-en-scène of the tension between the circle and the line, condenses the film's sense of historical openness and uncertainty. Influential readings have tended to underscore how the sequence collectivizes the murder. My preference here is to emphasize how, when the hero escapes the camera's gaze, he steps into the space of the not already known.
Jane Austen on Love and Pedagogical Power
Authors: Fessenbecker Patrick
Published: February 2012

This essay notes initially recent prominence of theories of pedagogy that attempt to "de-mystify" it and reveal troubling power relations, and their subsequent contention that love is impossible in the student-teacher relationship. "Pedagogical" interpretations of Jane Austen's fiction, however, see pedagogy as essential to love. I argue that this is so precisely because of the power dynamics involved; drawing on Jessica Benjamin's psychoanalytic interpretation of G. W. F. Hegel's analysis of the "Lord-Bondsman," I suggest that Austen portrays the loving relationship as inherently involving the occupation and subsequent exchange of roles as superior and inferior, incarnated as "teacher" and "student."
Recent Studies in the Nineteenth Century
Authors: Bristow Joseph
Published: February 2012

An assessment of recent scholarly work treating the literature of the nineteenth century and some general observations on the state of the profession. A full bibliography and price list of the works received by SEL for consideration follow.
Spatial Patterns of Ecological Integrity in South Carolina Watersheds
Authors: Kupfer John A. , Gao Peng
Published: February 2012

La evaluación y el monitoreo de la integridad ecológica de los ecosistemas terrestres y acuáticos es un componente vital en el manejo eficaz de los recursos hídricos, planificación sostenible del uso del suelo, y el manejo y protección de la biodiversidad. Nuestro objetivo fue cuantificar, evaluar y cartografiar medidas de la condición y vulnerabilidad ecológica de las 32 sub-cuencas en Carolina del Sur. Un Análisis de Componentes Principales de 29 medidas de integridad identificó seis componentes importantes que explicaron el 78.5 por ciento de la variación en los valores de los indicadores entre cuencas hidrográficas. Estos componentes corresponden a los indicadores asociados con el desarrollo urbano y los factores de estrés humano, extensión del hábitat y la presencia de especies prioritarias, desarrollo agrícola y protección del suelo, uso del suelo ribereño y el deterioro del cauce, y la conversión y el abandono agrícola. Las medidas compuestas sobre la integridad de cuencas hidrográficas proporcionaron un medio sencillo para priorizar las cuencas hidrográficas para potenciales actividades de manejo. El enfoque utilizado en este estudio, en última instancia, proporciona un medio flexible para evaluar los patrones a gran escala de la integridad biótica que se pueden adaptar para poner de relieve las necesidades específicas en el manejo, o metas, mientras que se facilita la selección de un conjunto de medidas complementarias que efectivamente caractericen las propiedades del sistema.
The Politics of Mobility in the South: A Commentary on Sprawl, Automobility, and the Gulf Oil Spill
Authors: Henderson Jason
Published: February 2012

Durante el desastre de Deepwater Horizon en 2010 en el Golfo de México hubo discursos que exhortaron a la reducción de la dependencia de los Estados Unidos en el petróleo mediante la reducción del uso de automóviles. Sin embargo, las propuestas en el Sur para limitar la perforación, incentivar la conservación, y en especial reducir la utilización de automóviles, enfrentaron hostilidad. Estos discursos complementarios proporcionan un vistazo instantáneo sobre una amplia “ política de movilidad”, en el Sur - luchas sobre creencias fundamentales y valores normativos acerca de qué tipo de transporte es apropiado, quien debe decidir la política de transporte, y donde debe o no ocurrir movimiento. Este artículo revisa algunas de las tendencias y temas que valen la pena considerar para una agenda de investigación sobre el potencial de las políticas de movilidad en el Sur, incluyendo una visión general de las altas tasas de uso y expansión del automóvil en el Sur, y las políticas en torno a esto. El examinar las políticas de movilidad puede ofrecerles a los académicos del Sur ideas innovadoras y estimulantes para estos debates, e ideas de cómo los paisajes del Sur se producen.
Chaucer's Silent Italy
Authors: Gross Karen Elizabeth
Published: February 2012

This study reexamines Chaucer's engagement with his main Italian poetic sources by pointing out a startling paradox: that Chaucer was a poet who, unique among his English contemporaries, knew intimately the writings of Dante, Boccaccio, and Petrarch, and could best appreciate what was truly innovative about their enterprises, yet he systematically silenced those qualities that were most distinctive, thereby changing the course of English letters. This essay first identifies hallmarks of a trecento Italian tradition and then systematically examines how Chaucer quietly contests these Italian views with his own substitutions. Thus this piece is also a case study in authorial tradition, and how an author's individuality is most apparent when she or he is most indebted to source material.
The Transatlantic Pursuit of a World Engineering Federation: For the Profession, the Nation, and International Peace, 1918–48
Authors: van Meer Elisabeth
Published: February 2012

In the aftermath of World War I, inspired by the work of Herbert Hoover and critical of traditional diplomacy, Czech and American engineers forged a transatlantic lobby for a World Engineering Federation (WEF). The WEF was to institutionalize technocratic internationalism, unify and elevate the power of the engineering profession, facilitate trade and economic progress across the Atlantic, and secure Czechoslovakia’s independent future in an internationally recognized East-Central Europe. By the mid-1930s, their technocratic internationalist outlook was reduced to a minority viewpoint, though the WEF lobby survived through international collegial ties. In the aftermath of World War II, and on the eve of the Cold War, French and Czechoslovak engineers sought once more to establish a WEF in Paris. However, when the European Federation of National Engineering Organizations (FEANI) was established in Brussels in 1951, its founders proclaimed an internationalist vision rooted only in Western Europe.
Site-Specific Theatre and Political Engagement across Space and Time: The Psychogeographic Mapping of British Petroleum in Platform's And While London Burns
Authors: Tompkins Joanne
Published: February 2012

This essay focuses on Platform's audio-walk And While London Burns (2006), which generates a new map of London by means of the "carbon web," or the complex network of companies and supporting industries on which British Petroleum (BP) relies. The production—and its message about the urgency of halting climate change—has since accrued additional layers of meaning, given the disaster of the Deepwater Horizon oil-rig explosion and spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Addressing the shifting historical and political frame of reference that has surrounded the production at three different times, I analyze the production's use of psychogeography to render critical thinking into physicality through a self-motivated, multi-sensory engagement with the cityscape that generates a visceral response. And While London Burns deploys the paradox of forcing participants to perform changes and make their own decisions in spite of the potentially isolating and personal medium of the audio-walk.
Acting Black, 1824: Charles Mathews's Trip to America
Authors: Davis Tracy C.
Published: February 2012

Charles Mathews's notoriety in American studies and theatre history hinges on his portrayal of an African American actor as an antic buffoon who mispronounces Shakespeare's verse, acts histrionically, and interpolates the song "Possum Up a Gum Tree" in the midst of a soliloquy. Careful attention to evidence of Trip to America reveals five additional African American characters. This essay explores Mathews's performative techniques in portraying all these black characters and challenges historiography that emphasizes his similarities with the later genre of blackface minstrelsy. Mathews's racialized portrayals of blacks, Yankees, and Europeans instead reveal a pattern of affinity with African Americans and antipathy toward Yankees as a critical perspective on the young nation that hinges on the comparability of blacks with the British serving class.
The Theatricality of Religious Rhetoric: Gao Xingjian and the Meaning of Exile
Authors: Huang Alexander C. Y.
Published: February 2012

Artists in exile or in transit have produced some of the most exciting works, which is why intercultural theatre thrives in the contact zones among different ethnic, cultural, and performance traditions. Snow in August , a Buddhist-inflected play by Chinese French Nobel laureate Gao Xingjian, is a case in point. Why would a secular artist bring the religious rhetoric to bear on his philosophical investment in the idea of exile? The act of fleeing and constant search for a personal space through art carries important symbolic meanings for a playwright struggling with the contemporary tendency to politicize theatre works. This essay evaluates the 2002 premiere of Snow in August in Taipei in the context of Gao's theories of "cold literature" and "total theatre." Gao uses the hagiographic story of a Chan Buddhist master and semi-autobiographical narrative as platforms for asking probing questions about the nature of exile and the relationship between art and politics. Gao believes that art is strictly a personal affair rather than an institution of moral teaching or social engagement. Religious rhetoric has a special place in Gao's theatre, because the religious discourses are constructed as venues wherein heterogeneous values and performance styles are negotiated.
Behind the Play: The World and Works of Nick Rongjun Yu
Authors: Conceison Claire
Published: February 2012

The dramaturgy of Nick Rongjun Yu, the most prolific playwright in China, has been omitted from English-language anthologies and is overlooked by many Beijingcentric scholars, but his plays written during the past decade have been staged more than those of any other living Chinese playwright. He is deputy general manager of the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre (SDAC) and also its long-time director of publicity, marketing, and programming. As a writer, he plays a unique game with government censors; as an administrator at SDAC, he has instituted reforms and successful commercial strategies; and his efforts at expanding pan-Asian and international collaboration have transformed the Shanghai theatre scene. This essay gives a brief overview of his career and an introduction to his play Behind the Lie , translated for this special issue of Theatre Journal .
From Scenarios to Networks: Performing the Intercultural in Colonial Mexico
Authors: Cabranes-Grant Leo
Published: February 2012

In the summer of 1566, Martín Cortés, the son of Hernán Cortés, was arrested in Mexico City. He and some of his friends were accused of conspiring against Philip II . During the interrogations that followed, a masquerade organized by a young man named Alonso de Avila was used as evidence to incriminate him in the insurrection. Avila's masquerade included twenty-four horsemen masked as Indians and was a reenactment of the first encounter between Hernán Cortés and Motezuma. The masquerade was an intercultural scenario that revealed a complex grid of relational patterns and intersections. By carefully reframing certain objects like feathers and mugs within the elements of a traditional indigenous mitote or dance, Avila managed to reassemble some of the human and economic vectors that supported the viceroyalty of New Spain. Taking its cue from the work of Diana Taylor and Bruno Latour, this essay argues that we need to read scenarios as dynamic nodes in which social networks can be retraced, and that such an approach gives us access to a better philosophical understanding of the ways in which performance actualizes the emergence of new cultural identities.
The contribution of radical Western Cape intellectuals to an indigenous knowledge project in South Africa
Authors: Soudien Crain
Published: February 2012

This paper examines the writings of Cape Town intellectuals Ben Kies and Neville Alexander to pose the question about the possibility of an emergence of an indigenous, or to use a term which Australian social theorist Raewyn Connell has recently used, a ‘Southern Theory’ for the social sciences in South Africa. The paper is an early exploration into what the essential and constituent parts of such a theory would consist of and against this attempts to explicate the views of Kies and Alexander in theoretical terms, and it draws on recent biographical work on Alexander. For the purposes of the study within which the paper is located, delineating these views and representing them in a closer theoretical exposition is an important first step.
The new black/African racial nationalism in SA: towards a liberal-egalitarian critique
Authors: Glaser Daryl
Published: February 2012

The period of Mbeki’s ascendancy witnessed an upsurge in African and/or black racial nationalism in the country’s ruling circles, one whose effects are still being felt under the presidency of the more nonracial Jacob Zuma. This paper offers a critique of this new phenomenon from a liberal-egalitarian normative standpoint. Five conceptual premises of the new racial nationalism, the paper argues, lie at the root of what is normatively problematic about it. These are a group-based theory of moral agency, personality and standing; a race-based, unitary and teleological conception of peoplehood; an over-applied microcosmic theory of racial representation; the prioritisation of deontological racial justice in the assignment of persons to producer places over consequentialist social-welfare considerations regarding the provision of goods; and a crudely ‘postcolonial’ theory of knowledge and power. Four negative consequences flow from these conceptions: neglect of interpersonal equality and the poor, gratuitous social division, incipient authoritarianism, and policy irrationalism.
‘Just the way things are’: gender equity and sexual harassment in the South African Police Service
Authors: Ulicki Theresa
Published: February 2012

Since the end of apartheid in 1994, the South African Police Service (SAPS) has been confronted with the complex task of organisational transformation. This article explores the process of gender equitable reform in the SAPS in the post-apartheid period and argues that although the SAPS has drafted a Sexual Harassment Policy, it has not been pro-active in combating sexual harassment within its own ranks. The research reveals that despite advances in terms of gender representation at all levels of the organisation, systemic gender discrimination persists. While the SAPS has become a more gender representative organisation than most police services elsewhere in the world, it has not challenged the underlying causes of gender discrimination. This has profoundly influenced the way the police service, and its female and male officers, have responded to sexual harassment.
C-Terminal Complexin Sequence Is Selectively Required for Clamping and Priming But Not for Ca2+Triggering of Synaptic Exocytosis
Authors: Kaeser-Woo Yea Jin , Yang Xiaofei , Südhof Thomas C.
Published: February 2012

Complexins are small soluble proteins that bind to assembling SNARE complexes during synaptic vesicle exocytosis, which in turn mediates neurotransmitter release. Complexins are required for clamping of spontaneous “mini ” release and for the priming and synaptotagmin-dependent Ca2+triggering of evoked release. Mammalian genomes encode four complexins that are composed of an N-terminal unstructured sequence that activates synaptic exocytosis, an accessory α-helix that clamps exocytosis, an essential central α-helix that binds to assembling SNARE complexes and is required for all of its functions, and a long, apparently unstructured C-terminal sequence whose function remains unclear. Here, we used cultured mouse neurons to show that the C-terminal sequence of complexin-1 is not required for its synaptotagmin-activating function but is essential for its priming and clamping functions. Wild-type complexin-3 did not clamp exocytosis but nevertheless fully primed and activated exocytosis. Strikingly, exchanging the complexin-1 C terminus for the complexin-3 C terminus abrogated clamping, whereas exchanging the complexin-3 C terminus for the complexin-1 C terminus enabled clamping. Analysis of point mutations in the complexin-1 C terminus identified two single amino-acid substitutions that impaired clamping without altering the activation function of complexin-1. Examination of release induced by stimulus trains revealed that clamping-deficient C-terminal complexin mutants produced a modest relative increase in delayed release. Overall, our results show that the relatively large C-terminal complexin-1 sequence acts in priming and clamping synaptic exocytosis and demonstrate that the clamping function is not conserved in complexin-3, presumably because of its distinct C-terminal sequences.
Sodium-Activated Potassium Channels Are Functionally Coupled to Persistent Sodium Currents
Authors: Hage Travis A. , Salkoff Lawrence
Published: February 2012

We report a novel coupled system of sodium-activated potassium currents (IKNa) and persistent sodium currents (INaP), the components of which are widely distributed throughout the brain. Its existence and importance has not been previously recognized. AlthoughIKNawas known to exist in many cell types, the source of Na+which activatesIKNaremained a mystery. We now show in single membrane patches generated from the somas of rat neurons that sodium influx throughINaPis sufficient for activation of KNachannels, without substantial contribution from the transient sodium current or bulk [Na+]i.INaPwas found to be active at cell membrane resting potentials, a finding that may explain whyIKNacan be evoked from negative holding potentials. These results show an unanticipated role forINaPin activating a negative feedback system countering the excitable effectsINaP; the interrelatedness ofINaPandIKNasuggests new ways neurons can tune their excitability.
Memory-Guided Sensory Comparisons in the Prefrontal Cortex: Contribution of Putative Pyramidal Cells and Interneurons
Authors: Hussar Cory R. , Pasternak Tatiana
Published: February 2012

Comparing two stimuli that occur at different times demands the coordination of bottom-up and top-down processes. It has been hypothesized that the dorsolateral prefrontal (PFC) cortex, the likely source of top-down cortical influences, plays a key role in such tasks, contributing to both maintenance and sensory comparisons. We examined this hypothesis by recording from the PFC of monkeys comparing directions of two moving stimuli, S1 and S2, separated by a memory delay. We determined the contribution of the two principal cell types to these processes by classifying neurons into broad-spiking (BS) putative pyramidal cells and narrow-spiking (NS) putative local interneurons. During the delay, BS cells were more likely to exhibit anticipatory modulation and represent the remembered direction. While this representation was transient, appearing at different times in different neurons, it weakened when direction was not task relevant, suggesting its utility. During S2, both putative cell types showed comparison-related activity modulations. These modulations were of two types, each carried by different neurons, which either preferred trials with stimuli moving in the same direction or trials with stimuli of different directions. These comparison effects were strongly correlated with choice, suggesting their role in circuitry underlying decision making. These results provide the first demonstration of distinct contributions made by principal cell types to memory-guided perceptual decisions. During sensory stimulation both cell types represent behaviorally relevant stimulus features contributing to comparison and decision-related activity. However in the absence of sensory stimulation, putative pyramidal cells dominated, carrying information about the elapsed time and the preceding direction.
Antonovsky’s Sense of Coherence Scale: Cultural Validation of Soc Questionnaire and Socio-Demographic Patterns in an Italian Population
Authors: Sardu Claudia , Mereu Alessandra , Sotgiu Alessandra , Andrissi Laura , Jacobson Maria Katarina , Contu Paolo
Published: February 2012

Background:

The theory of salutogenesis entails that the ability to use resources for one’s wellbeing is more important than the resources themselves. This ability is referred to as the Sense of Coherence (SOC). This paper present the cross-culturally adapted version of the Italian questionnaire (13 items), and the psychometric and statistical testing of the SOC properties. It offers for the first time a view of the distribution of SOC in an Italian sample, and uses a multivariate method to clarify the effects of socio-demographic determinants on SOC.

Methods:

The cross-cultural adaptation of the English SOC questionnaire was carried out according to the guidelines reported in literature. To evaluate the psychometric and statistical properties we assessed reliability, validity and frequency distribution of the collected data. A Generalised Linear Model was used to analyse the effects of socio demographic variables on SOC.

Results:

The Italian SOC scale demonstrates a good internal consistency (α = 0.825). The model obtained with factorial analysis is not related to the traditional dimensions of SOC represented in more than one factor. The multivariate analysis highlights the joint influence of gender, age and education on SOC.

Conclusion:

The validated Italian questionnaire is now available. Socio-demographic variables should be taken into account as confounders when SOC values among different populations are compared. Presenting data on SOC of the Italian population makes a control population available for comparisons with specific subgroups, such as patient populations. Now, the Italian challenge is to integrate the salutogenic approach into Public Health police.
Accounting Students' Metacognition: The Association of Performance, Calibration Error, and Mindset
Authors: Ravenscroft Susan P. , Waymire Tammy R. , West Timothy D.
Published: February 2012

In recognition of the evolving body of knowledge in the accounting profession, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA 2010) highlights the importance of viewing learning as a lifelong process that requires self-awareness and extends beyond the academic setting. Metacognition, the assessment and regulation of one's own learning, is a crucial element in lifelong learning. We draw upon judgment of learning research and introduce mindset theory to explore the relationship among (1) exam performance, (2) calibration error, measured as expected minus actual exam scores, and (3) mindset, a person's basic beliefs about learning and ability (Dweck 2000, 2006) in the accounting classroom. We find strong evidence that exam performance is inversely related to calibration error (Kruger and Dunning 1999). We also find modest evidence that a growth mindset is associated with improved performance and decreased calibration error. While the mindset results were not entirely consistent with prior research in educational psychology, we explore possible reasons and future directions for accounting education research.
A Tetralogy of Fallot Associated with a Stenotic Pulmonary Valve and Agenesis of the Ductus Arteriosus in a 13-Week-Old Fetus: The Role of Postmortem Examination
Authors: Peres L. Cesar , Bekhit Mohammad , Johki Roobin
Published: February 2012

Prenatal diagnosis at very early gestational age may disclose fetal anomalies, although this diagnosis is limited by lack of details on ultrasound (US) examination; hence, the importance of postmortem (PM) examination. We present a case of a 13-week-old fetus terminated as a result of significantly raised nuchal translucency, which additionally presented a tetralogy of Fallot with a stenotic pulmonary valve and agenesis of ductus arteriosus. These cardiac defects are not detected by US at this gestational age. On the other hand, PM examinations are being performed more frequently in these cases with the aid of a dissecting microscope and using delicate instruments. This case illustrates the need for a closer collaboration between fetal medicine and fetal pathology in order to reach a more accurate diagnosis, which provides the basis for adequate reproductive counseling.
Derivation of a Preliminary Clinical Prediction Rule for Identifying a Subgroup of Patients With Low Back Pain Likely to Benefit From Pilates-Based Exercise
Authors: Stolze Lise R. , Allison Stephen C. , Childs John D.
Published: February 2012

Study Design

Prospective cohort study.

Objective

To derive a preliminary clinical prediction rule for identifying a subgroup of patients with low back pain (LBP) likely to benefit from Pilates-based exercise.

Background

Pilates-based exercise has been shown to be effective for patients with LBP. However, no previous work has characterized patient attributes for those most likely to have a successful outcome from treatment.

Methods

Ninety-six individuals with nonspecific LBP participated in the study. Treatment response was categorized based on changes in the Oswestry Disability Questionnaire scores after 8 weeks. An improvement of 50% or greater was categorized as achieving a successful outcome. Thirty-seven variables measured at baseline were analyzed with univariate and multivariate methods to derive a clinical prediction rule for successful outcome with Pilates exercise. Accuracy statistics, receiver-operator curves, and regression analyses were used to determine the association between standardized examination variables and treatment response status.

Results

Ninety-five of 96 participants completed the study, with 51 (53.7%) achieving a successful outcome. A preliminary clinical prediction rule with 5 variables was identified: total trunk flexion range of motion of 70° or less, duration of current symptoms of 6 months or less, no leg symptoms in the last week, body mass index of 25 kg/m2 or greater, and left or right hip average rotation range of motion of 25° or greater. If 3 or more of the 5 attributes were present (positive likelihood ratio, 10.64), the probability of experiencing a successful outcome increased from 54% to 93%.

Conclusion

These data provide preliminary evidence to suggest that the response to Pilates-based exercise in patients with LBP can be predicted from variables collected from the clinical examination. If subsequently validated in a randomized clinical trial, this prediction rule may be useful to improve clinical decision making in determining which patients are most likely to benefit from Pilates-based exercise. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2012;42(5):425–436. doi:10.2519/jospt.2012.3826
Climate and Energy Policy in Hungary
Authors: Szlavik Janos , Csete Maria
Published: February 2012

The energy problem has been redefined as one of the most important elements of sustainable development by climate change, adaptation and mitigation. Meeting energy needs is always a current issue in Hungary, irrespective of climate change because of the country’s high dependency on oil and gas imports, limited opportunities to replace them with domestic production, and the pollution associated with using fossil energy sources. Increasing effectiveness and saving energy can provide relatively short-term solutions with bearable costs and a relatively quick return on investment. The aim of the present paper is to give an overview about the climate and energy policy in Hungary with a special focus on the new energy strategy. Energy policy has a pivotal role in the economic recovery plan of the Hungarian government. The National Energy Strategy 2030 taking shape in Hungary takes climate policy into account with respect to adaptation and mitigation and lists renewable energy sources as the second most important tool for achieving strategic goals. As in most countries, it is also possible in Hungary to introduce climate strategy measures with zero social costs. The expedient management of climate change requires the combination of prevention, adaptation and dissemination initiatives. Strategies must meet a dual requirement: they must face the economic risks associated with premature measures, while also considering the adverse effects of delay.
DNA Barcodes of Asian Houbara Bustard (Chlamydotis undulata macqueenii)
Authors: Arif Ibrahim A. , Khan Haseeb A. , Williams Joseph B. , Shobrak Mohammad , Arif Waad I.
Published: February 2012

Populations of Houbara Bustards have dramatically declined in recent years. Captive breeding and reintroduction programs have had limited success in reviving population numbers and thus new technological solutions involving molecular methods are essential for the long term survival of this species. In this study, we sequenced the 694 bp segment of COI gene of the four specimens of Asian Houbara Bustard (Chlamydotis undulata macqueenii). We also compared these sequences with earlier published barcodes of 11 individuals comprising different families of the orders Gruiformes, Ciconiiformes, Podicipediformes and Crocodylia (out group). The pair-wise sequence comparison showed a total of 254 variable sites across all the 15 sequences from different taxa. Three of the four specimens of Houbara Bustard had an identical sequence of COI gene and one individual showed a single nucleotide difference (G > A transition at position 83). Within the bustard family (Otididae), comparison among the three species (Asian Houbara Bustard, Great Bustard (Otis tarda) and the Little Bustard (Tetrax tetrax)), representing three different genera, showed 116 variable sites. For another family (Rallidae), the intra-family variable sites among the individuals of four different genera were found to be 146. The COI genetic distances among the 15 individuals varied from 0.000 to 0.431. Phylogenetic analysis using 619 bp nucleotide segment of COI clearly discriminated all the species representing different genera, families and orders. All the four specimens of Houbara Bustard formed a single clade and are clearly separated from other two individuals of the same family (Otis tarda and Tetrax tetrax). The nucleotide sequence of partial segment of COI gene effectively discriminated the closely related species. This is the first study reporting the barcodes of Houbara Bustard and would be helpful in future molecular studies, particularly for the conservation of this threatened bird in Saudi Arabia.
A Framework for Developing Pre-Service Teachers’ Web 2.0 Learning Design Capabilities
Authors: Bower Matt
Published: February 2012

This chapter presents and evaluates a Web 2.0 Learning Design Framework that can be used to develop pre-service teachers’ learning design capabilities. The framework integrates the TPACK model of educational practice, Anderson and Krathwohl’s Taxonomy of learning, teaching and assessing, and different types of constructive and negotiated pedagogies, with a range of contemporary Web 2.0 based learning technologies. Pre-service teachers in a second year learning technology subject felt that the framework helped them to better understand the relationship between technology, pedagogy, and content, as well as create more effective learning designs for their students. Examples of student learning designs are used to illustrate the way that pre-service teachers applied the framework. Students’ reflective responses to the framework are also used to explain how the Web 2.0 Learning Design Framework can be more effectively used to develop pre-service teachers’ Web 2.0 learning design capabilities.
Supporting Teacher Development through Social Networking
Authors: Dreon Oliver , Marcum-Dietrich Nanette
Published: February 2012

Over the last decade, social networking has emerged as a new way for groups to communicate and collaborate online. Especially popular with “digital natives” who have grown up with technology infused in all facets of their daily lives, social networking is changing the way people interact and altering traditional views of community and participation. Recent educational reform movements have advocated for teacher educators to embrace learning communities as a way to prepare and support new teachers. Considering the current student population in schools of education and their affinity for digital communication, social networking can be used to foster online learning communities where preservice teachers’ development can be supported. This chapter examines social networking and outlines recent research related to its use in the support of teacher education. The chapter concludes with design considerations for teacher educators who wish to develop social networks to foster their own online learning communities.
Learning to Teach in Web 2.0
Authors: Gura Mark
Published: February 2012

This chapter presents and analyzes an instructional practice developed in an Instructional Technology course required of Education students at Fordham University. The practice was employed to ensure a high level of engagement by assigning students the hands-on development of Web-based, instructional resources suitable for use with their own public school classes. The author describes the transformative quality of the assignment and discusses how it strongly supported students in forming a mental image of Instructional Technology as a viable, desirable dimension of their teaching practice. Discussed in detail are the attitudes and understandings about Instructional Technology of the students, the Web 2.0 tools and content items they selected for use in their projects, the ways they applied them to the instructional resources they developed, and how those satisfied their needs as teachers. The implications of the practice and how it evolved are presented in the broad context of how all those involved in teacher preparation programs may understand and apply them.
Modeling Online Teaching and Learning to Pre- and In-Service Teachers through the use of the Web 2.0 Social Networking Tool NING
Authors: Unger Kelly L. , Tracey Monica W.
Published: February 2012

The rise of the Internet and Web 2.0 tools for “anytime, anywhere” learning is impacting K-12 and teacher education programs. Many teacher education (TED) faculty and professional development (PD) providers are now encouraged or required at a minimum to incorporate an online learning component into courses. Not only are they teaching the required course content to pre- and in-service teachers in an online environment, but are also modeling the use of that environment to teachers who will ultimately be required to design, develop, and provide online instruction to their future students. The purpose of this chapter is to discuss: (1) transitioning instruction from face-to-face to an online learning environment, (2) examples of learning activities to implement with the Web 2.0 social networking tool NING, and (3) implications the NING has for those instructing pre- and in-service teachers.
Attempting to Bridge Theory to Practice
Authors: Good Amy J. , Polly Drew
Published: February 2012

Preparing teacher candidates to move from the methods course to K-12 classrooms is not an easy task. Educational methods instructors desire to provide a common experience with exemplars of powerful instruction for their teacher candidates. This project builds on previous research related to tele-observation by presenting an observation scheme while capturing a “live case” of social studies instruction prior to the practicum experience with the help of videoconference capabilities. The research questions guiding this study include: (a) In what way (s) could videoconference be part of the process of bridging theory to practice? (b) In what way (s) will teacher candidates pack up the concepts from the methods course and take them to their own practicum experience? Data sources include a three part tele-observation survey and the context of the live case is shared. Teacher candidates report teaching strategies and management strategies they will use in the classroom following the tele-observation experience.
Application of Computer, Digital, and Telecommunications Technologies to the Clinical Preparation of Teachers
Authors: Medina Adriana L. , Tobin Maryann Tatum , Pilonieta Paola , Chiappone Lina Lopez , Blanton William E.
Published: February 2012

Computer-mediated communication (CMC) is becoming common place in the preparation of teachers. This chapter will focus on the application of CMC and will provide insight on how technology can be used in P-12 classrooms and potentially impact student learning. The purpose of the chapter is to: (a) describe the development, implementation, outcomes, and sustainability of a pre-service teacher (PST) supervision model arranged around digital technology and telecommunications, providing supervision and support for PSTs engaged in a student teaching internship, and (b) to discuss how the technology utilized may later be utilized by participating PSTs in their future classrooms (specifically videoconferencing, instant messaging, video sharing, and the critical analysis and reflection of current practices). The authors created a virtual-geographical third space in the form of a Teaching Lab that was mediated with a multimedia platform and designed around the principle of Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT). The authors also provided opportunities for PSTs to interact within that space for reflection and the sharing of best practices.