bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Evaluating the Stability of Embedding-based Word Similarities
Authors: Antoniak Maria , Mimno David
Published: December 2018

Word embeddings are increasingly being used as a tool to study word associations in specific corpora. However, it is unclear whether such embeddings reflect enduring properties of language or if they are sensitive to inconsequential variations in the source documents. We find that nearest-neighbor distances are highly sensitive to small changes in the training corpus for a variety of algorithms. For all methods, including specific documents in the training set can result in substantial variations. We show that these effects are more prominent for smaller training corpora. We recommend that users never rely on single embedding models for distance calculations, but rather average over multiple bootstrap samples, especially for small corpora.
Learning Representations Specialized in Spatial Knowledge: Leveraging Language and Vision
Authors: Collell Guillem , Moens Marie-Francine
Published: December 2018

Spatial understanding is crucial in many real-world problems, yet little progress has been made towards building representations that capture spatial knowledge. Here, we move one step forward in this direction and learn such representations by leveraging a task consisting in predicting continuous 2D spatial arrangements of objects given object-relationship-object instances (e.g., “cat under chair”) and a simple neural network model that learns the task from annotated images. We show that the model succeeds in this task and, furthermore, that it is capable of predicting correct spatial arrangements for unseen objects if either CNN features or word embeddings of the objects are provided. The differences between visual and linguistic features are discussed. Next, to evaluate the spatial representations learned in the previous task, we introduce a task and a dataset consisting in a set of crowdsourced human ratings of spatial similarity for object pairs. We find that both CNN (convolutional neural network) features and word embeddings predict human judgments of similarity well and that these vectors can be further specialized in spatial knowledge if we update them when training the model that predicts spatial arrangements of objects. Overall, this paper paves the way towards building distributed spatial representations, contributing to the understanding of spatial expressions in language.
Mapping to Declarative Knowledge for Word Problem Solving
Authors: Roy Subhro , Roth Dan
Published: December 2018

Math word problems form a natural abstraction to a range of quantitative reasoning problems, such as understanding financial news, sports results, and casualties of war. Solving such problems requires the understanding of several mathematical concepts such as dimensional analysis, subset relationships, etc. In this paper, we develop declarative rules which govern the translation of natural language description of these concepts to math expressions. We then present a framework for incorporating such declarative knowledge into word problem solving. Our method learns to map arithmetic word problem text to math expressions, by learning to select the relevant declarative knowledge for each operation of the solution expression. This provides a way to handle multiple concepts in the same problem while, at the same time, supporting interpretability of the answer expression. Our method models the mapping to declarative knowledge as a latent variable, thus removing the need for expensive annotations. Experimental evaluation suggests that our domain knowledge based solver outperforms all other systems, and that it generalizes better in the realistic case where the training data it is exposed to is biased in a different way than the test data.
From Characters to Time Intervals: New Paradigms for Evaluation and Neural Parsing of Time Normalizations
Authors: Laparra Egoitz , Xu Dongfang , Bethard Steven
Published: December 2018

This paper presents the first model for time normalization trained on the SCATE corpus. In the SCATE schema, time expressions are annotated as a semantic composition of time entities. This novel schema favors machine learning approaches, as it can be viewed as a semantic parsing task. In this work, we propose a character level multi-output neural network that outperforms previous state-of-the-art built on the TimeML schema. To compare predictions of systems that follow both SCATE and TimeML, we present a new scoring metric for time intervals. We also apply this new metric to carry out a comparative analysis of the annotations of both schemes in the same corpus.
Measuring the Evolution of a Scientific Field through Citation Frames
Authors: Jurgens David , Kumar Srijan , Hoover Raine , McFarland Dan , Jurafsky Dan
Published: December 2018

Citations have long been used to characterize the state of a scientific field and to identify influential works. However, writers use citations for different purposes, and this varied purpose influences uptake by future scholars. Unfortunately, our understanding of how scholars use and frame citations has been limited to small-scale manual citation analysis of individual papers. We perform the largest behavioral study of citations to date, analyzing how scientific works frame their contributions through different types of citations and how this framing affects the field as a whole. We introduce a new dataset of nearly 2,000 citations annotated for their function, and use it to develop a state-of-the-art classifier and label the papers of an entire field: Natural Language Processing. We then show how differences in framing affect scientific uptake and reveal the evolution of the publication venues and the field as a whole. We demonstrate that authors are sensitive to discourse structure and publication venue when citing, and that how a paper frames its work through citations is predictive of the citation count it will receive. Finally, we use changes in citation framing to show that the field of NLP is undergoing a significant increase in consensus.
Language Modeling for Morphologically Rich Languages: Character-Aware Modeling for Word-Level Prediction
Authors: Gerz Daniela , Vulić Ivan , Ponti Edoardo , Naradowsky Jason , Reichart Roi , Korhonen Anna
Published: December 2018

Neural architectures are prominent in the construction of language models (LMs). However, word-level prediction is typically agnostic of subword-level information (characters and character sequences) and operates over a closed vocabulary, consisting of a limited word set. Indeed, while subword-aware models boost performance across a variety of NLP tasks, previous work did not evaluate the ability of these models to assist next-word prediction in language modeling tasks. Such subword-level informed models should be particularly effective for morphologically-rich languages (MRLs) that exhibit high type-to-token ratios. In this work, we present a large-scale LM study on 50 typologically diverse languages covering a wide variety of morphological systems, and offer new LM benchmarks to the community, while considering subword-level information. The main technical contribution of our work is a novel method for injecting subword-level information into semantic word vectors, integrated into the neural language modeling training, to facilitate word-level prediction. We conduct experiments in the LM setting where the number of infrequent words is large, and demonstrate strong perplexity gains across our 50 languages, especially for morphologically-rich languages. Our code and data sets are publicly available.
Universal Word Segmentation: Implementation and Interpretation
Authors: Shao Yan , Hardmeier Christian , Nivre Joakim
Published: December 2018

Word segmentation is a low-level NLP task that is non-trivial for a considerable number of languages. In this paper, we present a sequence tagging framework and apply it to word segmentation for a wide range of languages with different writing systems and typological characteristics. Additionally, we investigate the correlations between various typological factors and word segmentation accuracy. The experimental results indicate that segmentation accuracy is positively related to word boundary markers and negatively to the number of unique non-segmental terms. Based on the analysis, we design a small set of language-specific settings and extensively evaluate the segmentation system on the Universal Dependencies datasets. Our model obtains state-of-the-art accuracies on all the UD languages. It performs substantially better on languages that are non-trivial to segment, such as Chinese, Japanese, Arabic and Hebrew, when compared to previous work.
Early Mercian Text Production: Authors, Dialects, and Reputations
Authors: Rauer Christine
Published: December 2018

There are suggestions that King Alfred’s legendary literary renaissance may have been a reaction to the efforts of the neighbouring kingdom of Mercia. According to Asser, Alfred assembled a group of literary scholars from this rival Mercian tradition at his court. But it is not clear what early literary activities these scholars could have been involved in to justify their pre-Alfredian reputation. This article tries to outline the historical and literary evidence for early Mercian text production, and the importance of this ‘other’ early literary corpus. What is our current knowledge of Mercian text production and the political and literary relationship of Mercia with Canterbury? What was the relationship of Alfred’s educational movement with its Mercian forerunner? Why is modern scholarship better informed about Alfred’s movement than any Mercian rival culture? If our current knowledge of this area is insufficient for the writing of a literary history of Mercia, a provisional list of texts and bibliography, published electronically for convenient updating, may prove useful in the meantime.
Old English būtan / Old Frisian būta: From Adverb to Conjunction
Authors: Bremmer Rolf H.
Published: December 2018

It is well established that Old English is more closely related to Old Frisian than to any other West Germanic language. This fact rests especially on phonological, morphological and lexical evidence. Syntactic arguments are few and far between. In this article, the author argues that the Old Frisian conjunction būta ‘but’ and its Old English parallel būtan ‘but’ do not derive their behavioural similarities to an erstwhile Anglo-Frisian pre-stage, but must be explained as having arisen from a similar, but independent, process of grammaticalization.
Comparing Contextualism and Invariantism on the Correctness of Contextualist Intuitions
Authors: Brown Jessica
Published: December 2018

Contextualism is motivated by cases in which the intuitive correctness of a range of phenomena, including knowledge attributions, assertions and reasoning, depends on the attributor's context. Contextualists offer a charitable understanding of these intuitions, interpreting them as reflecting the truth value of the knowledge attributions and the appropriateness of the relevant assertions and reasoning. Here, I investigate a range of different invariantist accounts and examine the extent to which they too can offer a charitable account of the contextualist data
Contextualism and the Many Senses of Knowledge
Authors: van Woudenberg René
Published: December 2018

Contextualists explain certain intuitions regarding knowledge ascriptions by means of the thesis that 'knowledge' behaves like an indexical. This explanation denies what Peter Unger has called invariantism, i.e., the idea that knowledge ascriptions have truth value independent of the context in which they are issued. This paper aims to provide an invariantist explanation of the contextualist's intuitions, the core of which is that 'knowledge' has many different senses.
Is the Best Explaining Theory the Most Probable One?
Authors: Bartelborth Thomas
Published: December 2018

Opponents of inference to the best explanation often raise the objection that theories that give us the best explanation of some phenomena need not be the most probable ones. And they are certainly right. But what can we conclude from this insight? Should we ban abduction from theory choice and work instead, for example, with a Bayesian approach? This would be a mistake brought about by a certain misapprehension of the epistemological task. We have to think about the real aims of epistemology and scientific practice in order to see that we are not primarily interested in the most probable theories but in explanatory ones leading to a coherent model of our world.
Corydalis ternatifolia belongs to C. sect. Asterostigmata, not C. sect. Incisae (Papaveraceae): Evidence from morphological and phylogenetic study
Authors: XU XIAODONG , WANG DONG
Published: December 2018

Corydalis ternatifolia (Papaveraceae), a perennial herb endemic to China, shares morphological similarities with both C. sect. Incisae and C. sect. Asterostigmata, rendering its taxonomic position controversial. In this study, we carried out a detailed morphological comparison of C. ternatifolia with the related species and conducted a phylogenetic analysis of C. ternatifolia and five species from C. sect. Incisae, three species from C. sect. Asterostigmata (including the type species of these two sections), and additional 21 species of Corydalis from 10 other sections. To reconstruct the phylogenetic relationships, sequences of the nuclear NADPH gene and chloroplast DNA (matK gene + trnG intron) were analyzed using Bayesian inference and maximum parsimony. The resulting four phylogenetic trees shared almost identical topology and resolved C. ternatifolia within C. sect. Asterostigmata with strong support. Our results suggested that C. ternatifolia belongs to the C. sect. Asterostigmata. This study has demonstrated that molecular evidence is effective in resolving the sectional placement of Corydalis species with elusive taxonomic position.
Testing the biogeographical regionalization of the Mexican Transition Zone based on the distribution of Curculionidae (Insecta: Coleoptera)
Authors: GARCÍA-NAVARRETE PATRICIA G. , MORRONE JUAN J.
Published: December 2018

A test of the biogeographical regionalization of the Mexican Transition Zone (MTZ) is presented, resulting from a Parsimony Analysis of Endemicity (PAE) based on the distributional patterns of 575 species of the family Curculionidae. The analysis was carried out in three stages. First, a PAE was carried out to define a general regionalization scheme for the MTZ, identifying areas and microareas of endemism for the entire area. Then PAEs were undertaken for each province. Third, a PAE was carried out to determine the relationship between the provinces of the MTZ. The analysis of the entire MTZ resulted in four areas and 57 microareas of endemism, while in the independent analysis of each province, five areas and 67 microareas of endemism were obtained. Both analyses coincide basically in the location of the areas and microareas of endemism, which are subordinated to biogeographic units defined by different authors. In the consensus cladogram of the third stage of the analysis, the Transmexican Volcanic Belt (TVB) is the sister area to the Sierra Madre Occidental (SMOC); then, they are the sister area to the Sierra Madre Oriental (SMOR); and finally the previous provinces are united in a trichotomy with the Sierra Madre del Sur (SMS) and the Chiapas Highlands (CHIS). It is assumed that the differences found when comparing our results with different cladistic biogeographic studies of the MTZ reflect the complexity of the study area. Since the data used to perform the analyses are not uniform, and both geographical units and taxa are different, the comparison between different analyses is difficult.
A General N-Moment Normalization Method for Deriving Raindrop Size Distribution Scaling Relationships
Authors: Morrison Hugh , Kumjian Matthew R. , Martinkus Charlotte P. , Prat Olivier P. , van Lier-Walqui Marcus
Published: December 2018

A general drop size distribution (DSD) normalization method is formulated in terms of generalized power series relating any DSD moment to any number and combination of reference moments. This provides a consistent framework for comparing the variability of normalized DSD moments using different sets of reference moments, with no explicit assumptions about the DSD functional form (e.g., gamma). It also provides a method to derive any unknown moment plus an estimate of its uncertainty from one or more known moments, which is relevant to remote sensing retrievals and bulk microphysics schemes in weather and climate models. The approach is applied to a large dataset of disdrometer-observed and bin microphysics-modeled DSDs. As expected, the spread of normalized moments decreases as the number of reference moments is increased, quantified by the logarithmic standard deviation of the normalized moments, σ. Averaging σ for all combinations of reference moments and normalized moments of integer order 0–10, 42.9%, 81.3%, 93.7%, and 96.9% of spread are accounted for applying one-, two-, three-, and four-moment normalizations, respectively. Thus, DSDs can be well characterized overall using three reference moments, whereas adding a fourth reference moment contributes little independent information. The spread of disdrometer-observed DSD moments from uncertainty associated with drop count statistics generally lies between values of σ using two- and three-moment normalizations. However, this uncertainty has little impact on the derived DSD scaling relationships or σ when considered.
Predictive Value of Hepatorenal Status in Contrast-Induced Nephropathy Among Patients Receiving Coronary Angiography and/or Intervention: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Zhang Enyuan , Lu Yaru , Chen Gang , Huang Lingyu , Zhang Jingkun , Wang Chengjian , Qin Qin
Published: December 2018

Background:

Low serum albumin, high blood urea nitrogen (BUN), and uric acid are regarded closely related to the incidence of contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN), whereas it remains unclear whether they can function as predictors of CIN onset. The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to explore the association between abovementioned indicators and CIN incidence rate in patients receiving coronary angiography (CAG) and/or intervention.

Methods:

Clinical studies were retrieved from the electronic databases of PubMed, EMBASE, Google Scholar, Clinical Trials, and ScienceDirect from their inception to July 13, 2018. Meta-analysis was performed on pooled eligible studies to determine whether these hepatorenal indicators were associated with CIN.

Results:

A total of 18 studies involving 16 171 patients were included in the meta-analysis. Pooled analysis results revealed that patients with hypoalbuminemia (odds ratio [OR] = 3.09, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.44-6.64, P = .004) and hyperuricemia (OR = 1.32, 95% CI = 1.15-1.50, P < .0001) both exhibited significantly higher CIN rates, regardless of the study design, renal function, and whether urgent clinical situation or not. However, there was no significant association between serum BUN and CIN risk.

Conclusion:

Hypoalbuminemia and hyperuricemia are independently associated with the occurrence of CIN among the patients undergoing CAG and/or intervention.
Surgical Management of Stylohyoid Pain (Eagle’s) Syndrome: A 5-Year Experience
Authors: Waters Candace M. , Ho Sandra , Luginbuhl Adam , Curry Joseph M. , Cognetti David M.
Published: December 2018

Objectives:

(1) To define patient demographics and common symptoms in patients who undergo styloidectomy for stylohyoid pain syndrome (Eagle’s syndrome). (2) To evaluate the effectiveness of styloidectomy in reducing symptoms of Eagle’s syndrome.

Methods:

Retrospective chart review and prospective case series. We retrospectively gathered demographic data on all patients at a single institution who underwent styloidectomy during a 5-year period. Using a patient symptom survey, we also gathered prospective data on a cohort of these patients presenting during the second half of the timeframe.

Results:

Thirty-two patients underwent styloidectomy for Eagle’s syndrome between November 2010 and June 2015. Of these patients, 22 (68.8%) were female, 29 (90.6%) were Caucasian, and 10 (31.3%) reported history of tonsillectomy. Mean age was 46.0 years, and mean BMI was 26.1 kg/m2. Nineteen patients completed the prospective survey. Average styloid length was 45.3 mm. Most severe preoperative symptoms were neck pain, otalgia, globus, facial pain, headache, and discomfort with neck turning. Thirteen of 17 individual symptoms demonstrated significant decrease in symptom scores after styloidectomy. Aggregate symptom scores also showed significant decrease postsurgically. Longer styloid length correlated with increased scores for dysphagia and odynophagia but not with conglomerate symptom scores.

Conclusions:

Patients with Eagle’s syndrome were mostly female, Caucasian, and had near-normal BMI. There is wide variability in presenting symptoms of Eagle’s syndrome, but nearly all demonstrate improvement after styloidectomy. Thus, in appropriately selected patients, styloidectomy can effectively and reliably produce improvement in patient symptoms.
The Transformational Change Challenge of Memes: The Case of Marriage Equality in the United States
Authors: Waddock Sandra , Waddell Steve , Gray Paul S.
Published: December 2018

This article explores the role of changing memes in large systems change toward marriage equality—popularly referred to as same-sex marriage—in the United States. Using an abbreviated case history of the transformation, the article particularly explores the shifting memes or core units of culture, in this case, word phrases associated with marriage equality over time, influencing the social change process. Using both the case history and the empirical work on memes, the article identifies nine lessons to support others tackling large systems change challenges.
The Impact of “Mom/Dad of the Day” Cards, Newborn Heart Auscultation, and Father Skin-to-Skin Care on Parent-Newborn Bonding
Authors: Kow Sean , Groot Jessica , Puthenparampil Jessica , Faruqi Jordana , Naqvi Fizza , Ali Iman , Verma Arushi , Naqvi Mubariz
Published: December 2018

Texas Tech Pediatrics at Northwest Texas Hospital System in Amarillo, Texas, currently practices giving “Mom/Dad of the Day” cards to all new parents, offering the opportunity for fathers to auscultate the newborn heart sound, and encouraging maternal and paternal skin-to-skin contact. New parents were asked to fill out 2 anonymous surveys regarding these practices. Survey results showed statistically significant positive responses by the parents for subjective improvement in fetal sleep and feeding as well as parental confidence and preparedness for taking care of their newborn. Additionally, these practices are desired by parents, with 96% fathers recommending that the hospital routinely offering opportunities for heart auscultation and 94% parents recommending “Mom/Dad of the Day” cards for all future parents in the hospital. Small, nonmedical initiatives such as these are well received and can be feasibly adopted in more hospitals to improve patient quality of care.
An Overview of Strategies for Reducing Upper Extremity Physical Exposure Associated With Floor Mopping: A Systematic Review
Authors: Wallius Mari-Anne , Järvelin-Pasanen Susanna , Rissanen Saara M. , Karjalainen Pasi A. , Räsänen Kimmo
Published: December 2018

Objective:

This systematic review synthesizes literature on upper extremity physical exposure associated with floor mopping, in order to (a) assess the impact of changes in mopping systems on physical exposure and (b) propose recommendations for strategies to reduce exposure.

Background:

Floor-cleaning tools and equipment have undergone major improvements. Existing studies have focused on mop design modifications and cleaning efficiency. However, less is known about strain responses caused by modern tools and methods.

Method:

Studies from 1987 to February 2017 were identified by electronic and manual search. All selected studies underwent a quality assessment. The evidence was organized into categories representing different strategies for reducing exposure. The levels of evidence were determined using a best evidence synthesis approach.

Results:

Eleven studies were included. Based on the review findings, currently there is moderate evidence suggesting that reduced physical exposure has been achieved through development of mopping systems. Levels of evidence for strategies associated with positive effects on physical exposure were: moderate evidence for mop design and handle type, insufficient evidence for mopping technique, and mixed evidence for mopping methods and environment modifications. Therefore, the present study suggests the use of adjustable mop handles as a strategy for reducing physical exposure.

Conclusion:

A more comprehensive approach to reducing physical exposure concerning floor mopping work is necessary.

Application:

Knowledge regarding physical exposure reduction can be applied as the basis for decision making in cleaning practice. Information can be incorporated into future research regarding development of floor-cleaning methods.
Cognitive beliefs and positive emotions about change: Relationships with employee change readiness and change-supportive behaviors
Authors: Rafferty Alannah E , Minbashian Amirali
Published: December 2018

Research has focused on individuals’ beliefs about change when considering the antecedents of employee change readiness. Our study is unique as we identify beliefs and positive emotions about change as proximal antecedents of change readiness. In Study 1, a cross-sectional study of 252 government workers, measures of change beliefs, positive emotions about change and change readiness were developed and tested. Study 1 examined relationships between these constructs. In Study 2, we collected data at two time points separated by 3 months from 199 employees. Study 2 examined the direct and indirect relationships among change beliefs, positive emotions about change, change readiness and change-supportive behaviors. Structural equation modeling results provided support for the validity of our measures. In both studies, cognitive beliefs about change and positive emotions about change were significantly associated with change readiness. Study 2 provided support for indirect and direct relationships between change beliefs and positive emotions and change behaviors. An implication of this research is that failure to consider positive emotions about change means ignoring a key source of variation in change readiness. Practically, results suggest a need to develop both change beliefs and positive emotions about change to enhance employees’ change readiness and change-supportive behaviors.
Racial diversity and its asymmetry within and across hierarchical levels: The effects on financial performance
Authors: Smulowitz Stephen , Becerra Manuel , Mayo Margarita
Published: December 2018

The benefits and drawbacks of diversity inside organizations have been the focus of attention for researchers and practitioners for several decades. In our article, we investigate the business case for racial diversity across different hierarchical levels. More precisely, we ask: How does racial diversity within organizations and its asymmetry across hierarchical levels affect their financial performance? From a sample of 143 US law firms from 2008 to 2012, we provide strong support for the business case and show that greater racial diversity for the entire organization is positively associated with firm financial performance. However, contrary to our initial expectations, the benefits of diversity are not more pronounced at the top of the organization, where its effects should arguably be more clearly observable. Diversity seems to have a similar effect across the three levels in law firms: associates, mid-level and partners. Furthermore, we find that the most profitable firms actually have their racial diversity heavily concentrated at the associate level. We discuss alternative explanations for this surprising finding and why the top-performing law firms have both overall higher degree of racial diversity and more concentration of its diversity at the lower level.
Academic Entrepreneurship: The Bayh-Dole Act versus the Professor’s Privilege
Authors: Åstebro Thomas , Braguinsky Serguey , Braunerhjelm Pontus , Broström Anders
Published: December 2018

Is the Bayh-Dole intellectual property regime associated with more and better academic entrepreneurship than the Professor’s Privilege regime? The authors examine data on US PhDs in the natural sciences, engineering, and medical fields who became entrepreneurs in 1993–2006 and compare this to similar data from Sweden. They find that, in both countries, those with an academic background have lower rates of entry into entrepreneurship than do those with a non-academic background. The relative rate of academics starting entrepreneurial firms is slightly lower in the United States than in Sweden. Moreover, the mean economic gains from becoming an entrepreneur are negative, both for PhDs originating in academia and for non-academic settings in both countries. Analysis indicates that selection into entrepreneurship occurs from the lower part of the ability distribution among academics. The results suggest that policies supporting entrepreneurial decisions by younger, tenure-track academics may be more effective than are general incentives to increase academic entrepreneurship.
The study of learning effects of mobile devices courses for Taiwanese senior citizens using the Kirkpatrick model
Authors: Chao Jenyi , Luo Peiting , Yeh Yihsin , Kao Hsiaochi
Published: December 2018

This study mainly employed three levels of the Kirkpatrick Model—reaction, learning, and behavior—to investigate and analyze the satisfaction level of senior citizens after they participated in courses on mobile devices developed in this study. Familiarization with and application of mobile devices can make senior citizens’ lives more convenient and enable them to overcome the digital divide in the society. This study recruited 39 elderly persons aged 55 years and higher from Da'an District, Taipei City, Taiwan, in 2017. These individuals participated in eight sessions of courses on mobile device, and each session lasted for 120 min. The content of the courses mainly included the device function (photography and Internet browsing) and apps useful in everyday life (i.e. LINE and audio/video editing). This study used the one-group posttest-only design, and research tools included a homogenous trainee interview form, a trainer’s observation record form, and the Kirkpatrick Assessment form for quantitative analysis. The assessment form comprised 33 items, and participants scored their satisfaction level using a 5-point Likert scale. A high score represents a high satisfaction level. The data are expressed as mean and standard deviation and were analyzed to investigate the satisfaction level of senior citizens across the three levels of reaction, learning, and behavior after they participated in the courses. The results showed that senior citizens’ satisfaction levels across the three levels were all higher than 4.0. In addition, the mean of the highest satisfaction level was 4.89. This finding indicated that senior citizens provided favorable quantitative assessments and a positive overall rating for the courses. Moreover, the records of interviews with the trainees clearly showed that the courses not only unleashed participants’ potential but also enabled their practical and rapid information learning. Thus, even when technology is rapidly developing, the concept of lifelong learning does not change. Learning and accepting new technology not only broaden the existing knowledge of senior citizens but also improve their self-worth and adds to the joys of their life.
Bodily Modifications and the Criminal Law
Authors: Bansal Daniel
Published: December 2018

This article critically evaluates the law on bodily modifications and consent in English criminal law. The law on consent to (serious) bodily harm has been looked at on numerous occasions by both academics and the judiciary. The current position is that conduct must fall within one of four broad categories for consent to bodily harm to be effective—surgery, regulated sports, chastisement of children and tattooing and ear-piercing. This article argues that extreme bodily modifications, which involves the infliction of grievous bodily harm, are not permitted when utilising the current category-based rationale favoured by the judiciary. This article posits that extreme bodily modifications are of such social disutility that their criminalisation must be correct. It is submitted that interference with personal autonomy is justified considering the significant inherent risks with such extreme procedures.
Climbing bean as a solution to increase productivity in land-constrained environments: Evidence from Rwanda
Authors: Katungi Enid , Larochelle Catherine , Mugabo Josephat , Buruchara Robin
Published: December 2018

Climbing bean is a potential solution to increase the agricultural sector productivity and sustainability. Using nationally representative bean-producing household data collected in Rwanda, this study identifies factors that influence the decision to switch from cultivating bush to climbing bean and quantifies the impact of climbing bean adoption on yield. About 50% of bean-producing households grow climbing bean, a substantial increase over the past 15 years. Elevation, population pressure, and drought shocks are important drivers of climbing bean adoption. Adoption of climbing bean increases yield by 23% among adopters and has the potential to increase yield by 48% for non-adopters. Findings from this study provide important information for the development of agricultural policies and programs in Rwanda and elsewhere.
Complicated sisterhood: A generous reading of Leah and Rachel’s story
Authors: Jones Christine
Published: December 2018

Often, both our similarities with and differences from the experiences of Leah and Rachel lead us to unfair and overly critical interpretations of their saga. In such interpretations, we continue the unhealthy competition begun in their story, pitting characters against one another in an endless cycle of hurt. What if, instead, we could find ways to read their stories with generosity, trying to assume the best of these complicated characters who lived in a complicated context? This generous reading will explore the relationship of Leah and Rachel as sisters, wives, and mothers, and will recognize them as both opponents and allies. The article ends by suggesting ways we might use what we learn from Leah and Rachel to cultivate our own generosity.
Mrs. Lot: Vilified or victim? Sinner or salt?
Authors: Miles-Tribble Valerie
Published: December 2018

Patriarchal and punitive characterization often casts the silenced Mrs. Lot as a disobedient and unfaithful sinner who ignored God’s command not to look back. Because she did, a common conclusion is that she ostensibly lusted after the depravity of Sodom or Gomorrah as the towns were cataclysmically destroyed by God’s judgment with rains of fire. Feminist and womanist exegetical approaches to the biblical text reject the brunt of patriarchal castigation. As a practical theologian, I analyze the praxiological intent of Mrs. Lot’s actions in the Abram–Lot saga. I approach the Hebraic text using a triadic womanist theoethical method to: (a) deconstruct the hegemonic hermeneutics by critiquing oppressive epistemological presumptions; (b) analyze lived experiences as narrative description to center, name, and validate historically margined or silenced voices; and (c) construct a counternarrative affirming personhood by valuing praxis to resist devaluation. I propose a counternarrative view of Mrs. Lot by deconstructing a patriarchal focus privileging Lot. I describe a narrative of Mrs. Lot’s lived experiences relational to Lot’s questionable ethics in light of societal mores. I then construct a premise for God’s mercy rather than punishment as evidenced in Mrs. Lot’s transformation. The proposal is timely in light of the revelatory publicity of the #MeToo campaign, wherein female voices shed light on past and present abusive experiences. My aim is to urge women and men to resist the normativity of domestic abuse that goes unchecked in the Genesis narrative and in present societal practices. I argue that Mrs. Lot’s lived experiences give ‘voice’ to what must be retold in the symbolism of a salt pillar, which Christ later taught had life-altering properties. Her vilification ends here. Enough.
Rebekah: Model matriarch
Authors: Quesada Jan Jaynes
Published: December 2018

Rebekah is a singular figure within the Bible. Her energy and agency revitalize the covenant family. Inhabiting a matrix of feminine family roles, as daughter, sister, bride, wife, mother, and mother-in-law, Rebekah embodies numerous core qualities, both positive and problematic. A close reading of the different elements of her story will illustrate her foundational significance for the Ancestor Narratives of Genesis 12–50, as well as her role in setting the course for the people of Israel, whose matriarch she is.
Three’s company too: A midrash on everyday misogyny, Leah, Rachel, Jacob, and the comedy of errors of this Hebrew Bible dysfunctional family
Authors: Jeffress Jean
Published: December 2018

Misogyny, like other forms of hatred/oppression, is patently unspectacular, mediocre, and relies completely upon unearned, systemic, and patriarchal privilege. In this piece, I attempt to weave together disparate narratives connected together by what I call “everyday misogyny.” Common in each of these narratives is that two or more women swarm around one man, who then becomes the center. The contextualization of misogyny, whether in Genesis 29 and 30, the story of Leah, Rachel, Zilpah, Bilhah, and Jacob (five’s company), or in the utter banality of the American 1970s sitcom Three’s Company, is violence against and humiliation of women in everyday clothes. This guise gives misogyny a harmless appearance, nothing graphic, just the mundane way in which women’s stories/lives/bodies/value are measured through a filter of cis hetero maleness. Naming everyday misogyny in the stories of women is a way to reclaim our bodies and to proclaim that violence does not have to be graphic to be real.
Sarah the gevirah: A comparison of Sarah and the queen mothers, of matriarchs in the dynastic succession of sons and nations
Authors: Brewer-Boydston Ginny
Published: December 2018

Abraham’s and Sarah’s struggle to produce a child is the first of the ancient Israelites’ struggles to claim the divine promise, individually and collectively. This struggle of the first patriarch and matriarch begins with Sarah’s barrenness and her resolve to find other means to produce an heir for Abraham and herself in Genesis 16. The first nine verses refer to Sarah as Hagar’s “mistress” or gevirah three times (vv 4, 8, 9). Initially, there is little doubt for the reader to be concerned about any question of terminology concerning the term title as Sarah is the mistress of the servant Hagar. The reader, however, encounters a slight problem when one compares the other texts in which the term appears as it is most frequently applied to the queen mother. What becomes evident when one explores these texts and compares their meanings and contexts is that Sarah’s story corresponds to the majority of the contexts of the use of gevirah, where succession of an heir is involved, which is that of the position of the queen mother. In order to demonstrate this similarity, I will first explore Sarah’s story where gevirah appears through the securing of her son and Abraham’s heir, Isaac, all of which centers around the importance of succession. I will follow the story of Sarah the gevirah with how those women given the title of gevirah also acted in matters of succession. I will conclude with the implication of this comparison, which is that gevirah represents a deliberate choice of terminology as this appellation foreshadows Sarah as the chosen matriarch who will carry the promised heir, and justifies the actions she takes in order to secure the succession of her biological son.
Negotiating masculinities in Dinah’s story: Honor and outrage in Genesis 34
Authors: Johnson Janell
Published: December 2018

This article considers the story of Dinah in Genesis 34 to be a story primarily about masculinities. Therefore, it applies insights from masculinities studies to the negotiations that occur between the various men involved in Dinah’s life. Identifying which characters exemplify particular types of masculinities is only part of the investigation. The analysis also attempts to evaluate the hegemonic and subordinate masculinities that are displayed and eventually concludes that every masculinity enacted is less than desirable.
Hagar: The M/Other patriarch
Authors: Pigott Susan M.
Published: December 2018

Most readers of the Old Testament know the matriarchs Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, and Leah along with their counterpart patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob). But fewer know the other matriarch, Hagar, the Egyptian, wife of Abraham and mother of Ishmael. If they know her, they often have negative misconceptions about Hagar and Ishmael. But when one reads the stories of Hagar in Genesis 16 and 21 carefully and without modern prejudices, one discovers that Genesis portrays neither Hagar nor Ishmael negatively. In fact, Hagar is exceptional among the matriarchs in that she is actually a Mother Patriarch, being promised multiplied seed (just like the patriarchs Abraham and Isaac) and providing for Ishmael’s future as a patriarch would. Her son, Ishmael, mirrors Isaac in numerous ways and, like Jacob, he is the father of twelve princes. Hagar, the ultimate “other” as an Egyptian, is also the ultimate mother. She should be accorded her place as the mother of a nation and, indeed, a patriarch in her own right.
What the @#$! is a helpmate?
Authors: Flesher LeAnn Snow
Published: December 2018

For centuries, Eve’s role as depicted in Gen 2:18, 20 has been translated in the KJV as ‘help meet,’ a translation that eventually came to be rendered ‘helpmate.’ This article provides linguistic analysis of the Hebrew words ‘ēz er kenegdo, translated in the KJV as ‘help meet,’ as well as a brief analysis of the reception history of this Hebrew phrase that includes the intertextuality of New Testament allusions to Gen 2:18, 20 and the intersectionality of contemporary interpretations regarding women of color.
The new family of Jesus and the relativization of the natural family: An exposition on honor and shame (Mark 1:16–20; 2:13–14; 3:13–35)
Authors: Santos Narry F.
Published: December 2018

In the time of Jesus, the social values of honor and shame were embedded in the family. The Gospel of Mark not only evidences these social values but also radically redefines them through their narrative reversal. The narrative reversal seeks to persuade the readers to view as honorable what they have valued as shameful, and to regard as dishonorable what they have seen as honorable. Although the natural family is important in the Gospel, Mark transforms it and the honor–shame value system by emphasizing the greater value of the new family that Jesus is forming (“fictive family”) over the importance of the natural family. In Mark 1:16–3:35, I see the narrative reversal of the family in two ways: (i) Mark highlights the three instances when Jesus calls to himself his new family with a transformed honor–shame value system; and (ii) Mark relativizes (i.e., takes away the foremost importance of) the first-century concept of family in favor of the new family of Jesus. Specifically, I will explore the three stories of the disciples’ call (1:16–20; 2:13–14; 3:13–19) and the intercalated story of Jesus’ natural family seeking to gain custody of him (3:20–21, 31–35).
The state of churches in Asia
Authors: Tetseo Vesekhoyi
Published: December 2018

Asia is home to more than four billion people and the major religions of the world. The gospel came from Asia, spread to the West, and returned to Asia. Although the history of Christianity in Asia is long, Christians remain a minority across the region. But churches continue to grow even in places that are hostile to the gospel, although they face critical issues like population explosion, poverty, hunger, migration, urbanization, and changing ecosystems, among others. There are also protracted challenges in terms of ideologies, religious fundamentalism, and within churches themselves, failure in leadership, lack of integrity, and “inherited faith.” Amid all these challenges are rays of hope for Asian churches. Unlike forty years ago, churches now have access to theological education for their leaders. The establishment of major consortiums ensures that the training that leaders receive on Asian soil is comparable to that offered in the Global North. The strong missionary impulse is also accelerating the growth of churches in the continent. Though non-Asian missionaries continue to serve in the region, Asian Christians themselves are becoming more dynamic in their participation in global missions, including their own communities. The rise of missionary movements and church multiplication movement is encouraging. Indigenous support is key to the success of these movements. When funds are not sufficient, many serve as tentmakers, using their professional qualifications. This article also shows how contextualized worship and ministries could also open creative pathways for the growth of churches across the Asian region.
Single Mothers’ Post-Separation Provisioning: Child Support and the Governance of Gender
Authors: Natalier Kristin , Cook Kay , McKenzie Hayley
Published: December 2018

This article uses single mothers’ pursuit of child support (child maintenance) to examine how the state governs gender through post-separation financial responsibilities. We draw on interview data to detail how the Australian welfare state compels single mothers’ child support provisioning through claims work and the associated strategies of managing information, emotions and government workers. Despite their sustained efforts, provisioning afforded single mothers’ limited financial benefits. We argue that this outcome reflected a gendered policy and implementation regime that normalised masculine financial discretion and simultaneously compelled single mothers’ provisioning and failed to accord it legitimacy. Provisioning did, however, benefit the welfare state, which appropriated single mothers’ time and knowledge to claim and perform key functions. We conclude that the necessity and challenges of child support provisioning were not indicative of a failing child support programme but rather reflected its role in the reproduction of gendered power, responsibilities and rewards in post-separation parenting.