bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Serum Folate Is Significantly Correlated with Plasma Cysteine Concentrations in Healthy Industry Workers
Authors: Mansoor Mohammad Azam , Hervig Tor , Stakkestad Jacob Andreas , Drabløs Per Arne , Apeland Terje , Wentzel-Larsen Tore , Bates Chris J
Published: March 2011

Background: A low concentration of serum folate is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Extracellular cysteine is involved in aging, cancer and cardiovascular disease. The relationship between serum folate and plasma cysteine is poorly understood. Therefore, we investigated this relationship in industry workers, whose health has economic implications. Methods: The concentration of serum folate was determined by the Access ImmunoAssay System Sanofi Pasteur. Plasma cysteine and homocysteine were measured by an ion-pair HPLC method. The concentrations of serum triglycerides were determined by an enzymatic colorimetric method. Results: We detected a positive correlation between the concentration of serum folate and plasma cysteine, whereas the concentration of serum folate was negatively correlated with plasma homocysteine and serum triglycerides. In a multiple regression analysis with adjustment for age, BMI and smoking, serum folate as the dependent variable exhibited a strong relationship with plasma cysteine, and a negative relationship with plasma homocysteine and serum triglycerides. Conclusion: We observed significant correlations between serum folate, plasma cysteine and serum triglyceride concentrations in industry workers, implying that folate may modulate key aspects of the body’s cysteine and lipid metabolism.
Interaction between Carotenoids and Free Radicals in Human Skin
Authors: Lademann J. , Schanzer S. , Meinke M. , Sterry W. , Darvin M.E.
Published: March 2011

Environmental factors like air pollutants, radiation of the sun and stress factors such as illness, smoking, or alcohol abuse produce free radicals in the human tissue as well as in the skin. Free radicals serve as the main cause for premature skin aging. Additionally, they also contribute towards immunosuppression and the formation of skin diseases including cancer. The human organism has developed a protection system against the destructive action of free radicals by means of the antioxidant network. In the present study, the interaction of free radicals and carotenoid antioxidants in the human skin under in vivo conditions was investigated and summarized. The measurement of carotenoids in human skin was performed in vivo using resonance Raman spectroscopy.
Percutaneous Transatrial Access to the Pericardial Space for Epicardial Mapping and Ablation
Authors: Scanavacca Mauricio I. , Venancio Ana Claudia , Pisani Cristiano F. , Lara Sissy , Hachul Denise , Darrieux Francisco , Hardy Carina , Paola Edna , Aiello Vera D. , Mahapatra Srijoy , Sosa Eduardo
Published: March 2011

Background—

Puncture of the atrial appendage may provide access to the pericardial space. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of epicardial mapping and ablation through an endocardial transatrial access in a swine model.

Methods and Results—

An 8-F Mullins sheath was used to perforate the right (n=16) or left (n=1) atrial appendage in 17 pigs (median weight, 27.5 kg; first and third quartiles [Q1, Q3], 25.2, 30.0 kg). A 7-F ablation catheter was introduced into the pericardial space to perform epicardial mapping and deliver radiofrequency pulses on the atria. The pericardial space was entered in all 17 animals. In 15 (88%) animals, there was no hemodynamic instability (mean blood pressure monitoring, initial median, 80 mm Hg; Q1, Q3, 70, 86 mm Hg; final median, 88 mm Hg; Q1, Q3, 80, 96 mm Hg;
P
=0.426). In these 15, a mild hemorrhagic pericardial effusion was identified and aspirated (median, 20 mL; Q1, Q3, 15, 30 mL) during the procedure, and postmortem gross analysis revealed that the atrial perforation was closed in these animals. In 2 (12%) of the 17 animals, there was major pericardial bleeding with hemodynamic collapse. On gross examination, it was found that pericardial space was accessed through right ventricular perforation in 1 animal and the tricuspid annulus in the other. After the initial study, we used an occlusion device in 3 other animals to attempt to seal the puncture (2 at the right atrial appendage and 1 at the right ventricle). These 3 animals had no significant pericardial bleeding.

Conclusions—

Transatrial endovascular right atrial appendage puncture may provide a potential alternative route for pericardial access. Further studies are needed to evaluate its safety with longer and more-complex procedures before being applied in clinical settings.
Coexistence of Left-Sided Atrioventricular Accessory Pathways With a Common Inferior Pulmonary Vein Ostium
Authors: Ihara Kensuke , Nitta Junichi , Sato Akira , Iwai Shinsuke , Asano Mitsutoshi , Kanoh Miki , Muramatsu Kenichi , Yamato Tsunehiro , Matsumura Yutaka , Takei Kazuyasu , Asakawa Kihiro , Hirao Kenzo , Isobe Mitsuaki
Published: March 2011

Background—

As the technique for radiofrequency catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation (AF) has progressed, so has our knowledge of both normal and abnormal anatomy of the left atrium and pulmonary veins (PV). We treated several AF patients with accessory conduction pathways (ACP) who were also found to have a common ostium of inferior PVs (CIPV), a relatively rare PV anomaly. No relation between ACP and PV anomalies has ever been reported, and the aim of our study was to study this association.

Methods and Results—

This study included 137 consecutive patients (104 men; mean age, 60±9 years) who underwent AF ablation for paroxysmal and persistent AF at our institution from March 2009 to August 2010. We analyzed coexisting supraventricular tachycardias and left atrium and PV morphology by multidetector row CT. Thirty-eight of 137 patients (27.7%) were found to have some PV anomaly, consisting of 13 with a common trunk of left PV, 19 with right additional PV, 3 with a common trunk of right PV, and 3 with CIPV. Thirty-one patients (22.6%) had supraventricular tachycardias. They were 26 cases of atrial flutter, 4 of Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, and 3 of atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia. The prevalence of a coexisting ACP was significantly higher in patients with CIPV than in those without CIPV (3 of 3 [100%] versus 1 in 134 [0.7%];
P
<0.0001). All ACPs with CIPV were located in the left side. The other supraventricular tachycardias were not associated with any PV anomalies.

Conclusions—

There is a possible association between CIPV and left-sided ACP in AF patients. This suggests that there is a likelihood of developmental association between them.
Patterns of Care and Outcomes Differ for Urban Versus Rural Patients With Newly Diagnosed Heart Failure, Even in a Universal Healthcare System
Authors: Gamble John-Michael , Eurich Dean T. , Ezekowitz Justin A. , Kaul Padma , Quan Hude , McAlister Finlay A.
Published: March 2011

Background—

Access to medical care differs between urban and rural residents, but the magnitude of these differences and whether they affect outcomes are unknown. We aimed to determine whether outcomes differ for patients with incident heart failure (HF) by urban-rural status.

Methods and Results—

This cohort study used administrative data from Alberta, Canada. Patients with incident HF were identified from April 1, 1999, to December 31, 2005, and followed for 1-year. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess differences in 1-year outcomes after initial HF diagnosis in patients living in rural versus urban settings. We identified 72 043 patients with incident HF (mean age, 72±14; male sex, 50%) of whom 12 173 (17%) died and 29 074 (39%) were hospitalized within 1 year. Although crude all-cause 1-year mortality rates were higher in urban than in rural residents (17.3% versus 15.6%,
P
<0.001), after adjustment for comorbidities, no significant differences were observed (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.95; 95% CI, 0.90 to 1.00). However, sex-specific analyses indicated that urban men had a significantly lower risk of mortality than rural men (aOR, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.83 to 0.96). In contrast, no difference was observed between urban and rural women (aOR, 1.02; 95% CI, 0.94 to 1.10). Urban patients were more likely to have office-based physician visits in the first year after HF diagnosis (aOR, 1.09; 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.17) and exhibited lower rates of hospitalization (aOR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.68 to 0.74) and emergency department visits (aOR, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.60 to 0.65) than rural patients.

Conclusions—

Even within a universal healthcare system, there are differences in outcomes after HF diagnosis based on location of residence. Urban patients with HF are more likely to receive outpatient care and less likely to be hospitalized or present to the emergency department in the first year after diagnosis than rural patients with HF.
Dependency Parsing Schemata and Mildly Non-Projective Dependency Parsing
Authors: Gómez-Rodríguez Carlos , Carroll John , Weir David
Published: March 2011

We introduce dependency parsing schemata, a formal framework based on Sikkel's parsing schemata for constituency parsers, which can be used to describe, analyze, and compare dependency parsing algorithms. We use this framework to describe several well-known projective and non-projective dependency parsers, build correctness proofs, and establish formal relationships between them. We then use the framework to define new polynomial-time parsing algorithms for various mildly non-projective dependency formalisms, including well-nested structures with their gap degree bounded by a constant k in time O(n5+2k), and a new class that includes all gap degree k structures present in several natural language treebanks (which we call mildly ill-nested structures for gap degree k) in time O(n4+3k). Finally, we illustrate how the parsing schema framework can be applied to Link Grammar, a dependency-related formalism.
Controlling User Perceptions of Linguistic Style: Trainable Generation of Personality Traits
Authors: Mairesse François , Walker Marilyn A.
Published: March 2011

Recent work in natural language generation has begun to take linguistic variation into account, developing algorithms that are capable of modifying the system's linguistic style based either on the user's linguistic style or other factors, such as personality or politeness. While stylistic control has traditionally relied on handcrafted rules, statistical methods are likely to be needed for generation systems to scale to the production of the large range of variation observed in human dialogues. Previous work on statistical natural language generation (SNLG) has shown that the grammaticality and naturalness of generated utterances can be optimized from data; however these data-driven methods have not been shown to produce stylistic variation that is perceived by humans in the way that the system intended. This paper describes Personage, a highly parameterizable language generator whose parameters are based on psychological findings about the linguistic reflexes of personality. We present a novel SNLG method which uses parameter estimation models trained on personality-annotated data to predict the generation decisions required to convey any combination of scalar values along the five main dimensions of personality. A human evaluation shows that parameter estimation models produce recognizable stylistic variation along multiple dimensions, on a continuous scale, and without the computational cost incurred by overgeneration techniques.
How to Tame the Elusive: Lessons from the Revision of the EU Flexibility Clause
Authors: Engström Viljam
Published: March 2011

The mechanism established in what has now become Article 352 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (formerly known as Article 235 and 308) has many names. One of the more common is to refer to the mechanism as the 'flexibility clause'. As the notion indicates, the basic purpose of the mechanism is to provide the European Union with a possibility of (flexibly) adjusting legislative powers to arising needs. Since the very purpose of the flexibility clause is to provide for the exercise of legal powers where none is to be found in the EU Treaties, the clause hereby defines the ultimate reach of EU competence. Remarkably, although use of the clause has often been contentious, the wording of the clause has remained unchanged ever since the Treaty of Rome. The aim of the article is to outline the function and development of the flexibility clause especially in light of the Treaty of Lisbon, which for the first time in the history of the EC/EU rewrites the flexibility clause.
Making normative structures visible: The British National Health Service and the hospice movement as signifiers of compassion and hope
Authors: Brown Patrick , Flores Ruben
Published: March 2011

Compassion and hope are vital to individual and societal flourishing, not least through the solidarity and change that they facilitate. This article considers the importance of these two social phenomena for welfare institutions, and in particular for the hospice movement and the National Health Service in Britain. Compassion and hope are enacted due to the normative structures in which citizens are embedded. From here it is argued that a dialectical process exists whereby compassion and hope spur the creation of, and are embedded within, healthcare and hospice institutions. In turn, these institutions encourage and give rise to the practice of these emotions across society by virtue of making normative structures more visible. However, the role of these institutions as signifiers of compassion and hope is not straightforward. Tensions exist between the instrumentalism required to provide expansive healthcare access for all, and the communicative action through which hope and compassion are practised at the interpersonal level. More positive norms, such as compassion and hope, intersect with a range of other frameworks which may constrain or undermine their outworking across society. Future research and policy-making needs to acknowledge institutions’ broader influence and value when appraising their role and effective management.
Erratum: Employment inequalities through busts and booms: The changing roles of health and education in Norway 1980-2005
Authors: van der Wel Kjetil A. , Dahl Espen , Birkelund Gunn Elisabeth
Published: March 2011

In this article, we study trends in employment by education and long-standing illness (LSI), and discuss whether the findings are compatible with business cycle fluctuations or postindustrial labour market developments. Our analyses are based on data on the working age population (aged 25—66 years) from the Norwegian Survey of Living Conditions (1980—2005). We find increasing differences in employment between those reporting LSI and those who do not, while gender differences are getting smaller. Interaction terms from logistic regression analyses between time and LSI, and time and education, indicate that people with lower education and those reporting LSI are more often found outside the labour market over time. While the 1980s recession did not have much impact on employment inequalities, the more severe 1990s recession coincided with widening employment inequalities by education and health. Periods of economic recovery did not mitigate these inequalities. The study concludes that health and educational inequalities in employment have been rising in Norway since 1980. As business cycle changes alone could not account for the development, elements of the postindustrial labour market are discussed and considered.
Perceived Utility of Parent-Generated Family Health History as a Health Promotion Tool in Pediatric Practice
Authors: Kanetzke Erin E. , Lynch John , Prows Cynthia A. , Siegel Robert M. , Myers Melanie F.
Published: March 2011

Objectives. The purpose of this study was to describe how pediatric providers collect and use family health history (FHH) and their perceptions about My Family Health Portrait (MFHP) as a pediatric health promotion and disease prevention tool. Study design.A random sample of 148 pediatric providers was invited to participate in a semistructured qualitative interview. Transcripts were reviewed by 2 coders, and interrater reliability was determined. Results. In all, 21 providers were interviewed. All participants collected FHH at new visits and when patients presented with a symptom or complaint. Most providers believed that collecting FHH of chronic disease benefits the pediatric population. Time was the most commonly cited barrier to FHH collection; collecting FHH prior to the office visit was the most frequently cited facilitator. Providers believed that the use of MFHP would improve FHH collection and allow targeted education and preventive recommendations. Respondents also identified logistical and other issues that must be resolved to integrate MFHP into clinical practice. Conclusion. This research suggests that pediatric primary care presents many opportunities to collect and discuss FHH and that providers are optimistic about the clinical use of a parent-generated FHH collection tool. Future research should assess parent perspectives about the use of MFHP.
Defining and Identifying Hard-to-Staff Schools
Authors: Opfer Darleen
Published: March 2011

Purpose: This study makes a distinction between a school having high attrition and one having difficulties in hiring. It does so by exploring the relationship between definitions of hard-to-staff schools, school demographics, and school conditions that are often associated with a school being hard-to-staff. Research Design: The study relies on a survey of Ohio schools to ascertain information on vacancies for 2004-2005. The survey also collected information on principal perceptions of the impact of various school conditions and difficulty in hiring. Information was received about 3,371 teaching vacancies in 1,040 schools. The overall response rate from schools was 67%. In the first stage of analysis, a descriptive analysis explored the relationship between school demographic factors, definitions of hard-to-staff, and school conditions. In the second stage, three regression models were tested for seven definitions of hard-to-staff to determine whether school demographics and conditions were predictive of being hard-to-staff under any of the definitions. Findings: The analyses showed that school demographics such as poverty, student ethnicity, and school location are not predictive of difficulty in hiring in general. School conditions such as central office help in hiring are more important than the demographic characteristics typically associated with a school being hard-to-staff. Conclusions: How we define hard-to-staff matters. The characteristics of a hard-to-staff school vary depending on the definition used. Thus, we need to be more specific in defining hard-to-staff schools so that both research on these schools and resource targeting by policy makers yield better results.
Do Working Men Rebel? Insurgency and Unemployment in Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Philippines
Authors: Berman Eli , Callen Michael , Felter Joseph H. , Shapiro Jacob N.
Published: March 2011

Most aid spending by governments seeking to rebuild social and political order is based on an opportunity-cost theory of distracting potential recruits. The logic is that gainfully employed young men are less likely to participate in political violence, implying a positive correlation between unemployment and violence in locations with active insurgencies. The authors test that prediction in Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Philippines, using survey data on unemployment and two newly available measures of insurgency: (1) attacks against government and allied forces and (2) violence that kill civilians. Contrary to the opportunity-cost theory, the data emphatically reject a positive correlation between unemployment and attacks against government and allied forces ( p < .05 percent). There is no significant relationship between unemployment and the rate of insurgent attacks that kill civilians. The authors identify several potential explanations, introducing the notion of insurgent precision to adjudicate between the possibilities that predation on one hand, and security measures and information costs on the other, account for the negative correlation between unemployment and violence in these three conflicts.
The effects of ozone treatment on polylactic acid (PLA) fibres
Authors: Eren Huseyin Aksel , Avinc Ozan , Uysal Pinar , Wilding Mike
Published: March 2011

A set of knitted poly(lactic acid) (PLA) fabrics was ozonated at room temperature for periods ranging from one to 60 minutes in order to identify any accompanying effects on physical properties (specifically whiteness, water-absorbency, flexural rigidity and burst strength), fiber surface integrity or internal microstructure. A significant (ca. 6% after 10 minutes of treatment) initial increase in whiteness was observed, with longer treatment times producing little further change. The fabric’s absorbency and flexibility both increased, the time of wetting having fallen by ca. 20% and the flexural rigidity by ca. 16%, respectively, after 10 minutes of treatment. Fabric strength remained virtually unaffected for short times (up to 10 minutes) of ozonation, although longer treatments caused a measurable drop (ca. 10% after 60 minutes). SEM imaging showed virtually no evidence for surface damage, even after 60 minutes of treatment, whereas peroxide treatment caused massive pitting of the fiber surface. Raman spectroscopy of the ozonated PLA fabrics indicated that the treatment had not affected the internal microstructure of the fibers. Our conclusion is that brief (no more than 10 minutes) room-temperature ozonation is potentially an effective, safe and low-energy alternative to conventional higher temperature peroxide treatment.
A smart mannequin system for the pressure performance evaluation of compression garments
Authors: Yongrong Wang  , Yinhua Cui  , Peihua Zhang  , Xunwei Feng  , Jianming Shen  , Qiuyuan Xiong
Published: March 2011

A smart mannequin with the dimension of a standard female body was developed for measuring garment pressure. The mannequin has a rigid internal layer and is covered with a soft surface; it has eight built-in pressure sensors distributed on its surface. The sensors sense pressure imposed by wearing a garment and fed data into an acquisition device simultaneously. The mannequin can extend transversely at the antemedial and postmedial line to the maximum level of 5 cm, which may imitate the dimensions of different human body. Seven compression garments made from elastic fabrics knitted with controlled Spandex feeding rate were tested. Results showed that the pressure distributions exhibited obvious differences among the measuring points. They were also different at each particular measuring point when the mannequin dimensions were varied, and the controlled Spandex feeding rate caused pressure variations among the specimens. This smart mannequin system provides a novel tool for evaluating the pressure performance of compression garments, and gives reliable data for functional product development.
Fractal phenomenon in sound absorbing behavior of down fiber assembly
Authors: Shu Yang  , Weidong Yu  , Ning Pan
Published: March 2011

X-ray computed tomography (CT) can quantify variations in microstructure of materials. In this paper, we first demonstrated that by using a micro-CT method, we can characterize the internal porous structures of different fiber assemblies. Furthermore, the fractal dimension of the porous areas can be calculated based on the acquired two-dimensional cross-sectional images of the assemblies. Then after measuring the sound absorption behaviors of the assemblies, correlations between the fractal dimension, the pore structural characteristics, and the acoustic absorption property are analyzed. Results show that for down fiber assemblies, the fractal dimension increases with fiber mass, and decreases with the porosity. Also the maximum absorption coefficient αm reaches a maximum value at a critical fractal dimension, while critical frequency fr continuously decreases with the fractal dimension all the time.
Christian wisdom and the visual arts
Authors: Howes Graham
Published: March 2011

This essay discusses the role of the visual arts in articulating Christian ‘Wisdom’ within a predominantly secular post-Christian, post-modern, Western culture. It also assesses the role of museums and ‘heritage’ culture in both the de-sacralization of Christian art and in the emergence of art itself as what Tillich called, ‘one form of the latent church’. Should we therefore try to re-calibrate for the twenty-first century the historical relationship of art to faith – and vice versa – within the Christian tradition, or should we start again ‘from where we are’?
Wisdom in weakness
Authors: Young Frances
Published: March 2011

The paper explores the discovery of wisdom in weakness, through a shift from anguish over theodicy to an acceptance of challenging circumstances as granting privileged access to the deepest truths of Christianity. It begins with a novelistic narrative of a spiritual journey taken by St Francis of Assissi, which sets the agenda. The topics then covered include: human creatureliness, the wisdom of the cross and the wisdom of apatheia (passionlessness). Its climax is a reflection on 2 Corinthians 4.7–10, originally composed for the L’Arche communities.
The National Teacher Corps
Authors: Eckert Sarah Anne
Published: March 2011

This article investigates the lasting legacy of the National Teacher Corps (NTC), which was created in 1965 by the U.S. federal government with two crucial assumptions: that teaching poor urban children required a very specific skill set and that teacher preparation programs were not providing adequate training in these skills. Analysis reveals that, though these assumptions still undergird many of today’s current alternative certification programs, political and institutional issues prevented the NTC from realizing its full potential. Analysis also reveals that the NTC, because of changes, left a legacy of assumptions but never uncovered how to actually prepare teachers for urban schools.
Sexy But Often Unreliable: The Impact of Unreliability on the Replicability of Experimental Findings With Implicit Measures
Authors: LeBel Etienne P. , Paunonen Sampo V.
Published: March 2011

Implicit measures have contributed to important insights in almost every area of psychology. However, various issues and challenges remain concerning their use, one of which is their considerable variation in reliability, with many implicit measures having questionable reliability. The goal of the present investigation was to examine an overlooked consequence of this liability with respect to replication, when such implicit measures are used as dependent variables in experimental studies. Using a Monte Carlo simulation, the authors demonstrate that a higher level of unreliability in such dependent variables is associated with substantially lower levels of replicability. The results imply that this overlooked consequence can have far-reaching repercussions for the development of a cumulative science. The authors recommend the routine assessment and reporting of the reliability of implicit measures and also urge the improvement of implicit measures with low reliability.
Collaborative Governance Concepts for Successful Network Leadership
Authors: Silvia Chris
Published: March 2011

State and local governments across the United States have increasingly utilized collaborative, interorganizational approaches to the delivery of public services. This shift in governance structure often necessitates that public managers not only lead the agency in which they are employed, but also work within, and often lead, a network. These two different contexts in which public managers operate require different managerial and leadership approaches. This article discusses some of the differences between hierarchical leadership and network leadership, important aspects of collaborative leadership, and the leadership behaviors that are considered effective within collaborative governance structures. The article concludes with a discussion of some best practices for collaborative leadership, including the formation of joint commitment, the identification of resources, the creation of a shared understanding, the achievement of stakeholder support, and the establishment of trust.
Attachment, Social Network Size, and Patterns of Social Exchange in Later Life
Authors: Fiori Katherine L. , Consedine Nathan S. , Merz Eva-Maria
Published: March 2011

Dispositional styles of relating to significant others—adult attachment—are linked to social relatedness across the life span. Prior work has concentrated on the receipt of perceived social support and not examined links between attachment and patterns of exchange. Data from a sample of older adults ( N 1,118) were used to examine how secure, dismissive, and fearfully avoidant dimensions were associated with network size and patterns of exchange in kin and non-kin networks. Security was related to larger network size, greater reciprocity, and less “giving” to kin, whereas dismissiveness was associated with smaller non-kin networks, greater reciprocity, less “giving” to kin and non-kin, and more relationships involving “receiving” from kin. Levels of fearful avoidance were associated with fewer reciprocal relationships and more “receiving” from kin. Data are interpreted in light of attachment’s manifestations in motivational and interpersonal systems and may help explain variations in later life social network functioning.
Predictors of student defenders of peer aggression victims: Empathy and social cognitive factors
Authors: Barchia Kirstin , Bussey Kay
Published: March 2011

Despite wide recognition of the important role of student bystanders in influencing peer aggression in schools, little is currently known about what influences students to intervene in defense of peer aggression victims. This longitudinal study involving 1,167 primarily white adolescents (aged 12—15 years, 613 females) investigated the role of social cognitive factors and empathy as predictors of students defending victims of peer aggression. High levels of collective efficacy beliefs in the ability of students and teachers to work together to stop peer aggression were associated with higher frequency of defending behavior over time. For girls, empathy was also associated with defending over time.
Depressive symptoms during adolescence: Do learning difficulties matter?
Authors: Kiuru Noona , Leskinen Esko , Nurmi Jari-Erik , Salmela-Aro Katariina
Published: March 2011

To examine whether learning difficulties play a role in depressive symptoms, 658 Finnish adolescents were asked to complete scales for depression three times during the transition to post-comprehensive education. They also reported on their learning difficulties and feelings of inadequacy as a student. The results showed that learning difficulties prospectively predicted depressive symptoms. Moreover, the impact of learning difficulties was mediated via inadequacy as a student: learning difficulties predicted feelings of inadequacy as a student which, in turn, contributed to greater increases in depressive symptoms. Finally, gender moderated the association between learning difficulties and depressive symptoms: both being a girl and having a high level of learning difficulties predicted a higher initial level of depressive symptoms.
More bridges: Investigating the relevance of self-report and interview measures of adult attachment for marital and caregiving relationships
Authors: Bernier Annie , Matte-Gagné Célia
Published: March 2011

The aim of this report was to investigate the associations between attachment state of mind, romantic attachment style, and indices of maternal functioning in two relational spheres: the mother—child relationship (i.e., maternal sensitivity and child attachment security) and the marital relationship (i.e., mothers’ and their partners’ marital satisfaction). The results, based on 59 families, indicated that attachment state of mind was associated with maternal sensitivity and with child attachment security, although not to mothers’ or their partners’ subjective feelings of marital satisfaction. In contrast, romantic attachment styles were related to both mothers’ and their partners’ marital satisfaction, although not to maternal sensitivity or child attachment. These findings add to the growing literature highlighting the unique value of each tradition of assessment in adult attachment research, by suggesting that variation in attachment security tapped by each measure may bear particular relevance for specific relationships.
Elton Mayo and the Deification of Human Relations
Authors: Bruce Kyle , Nyland Chris
Published: March 2011

Orthodoxy holds the emergence of the Human Relations ‘school’ in interwar America as a response to the alleged inhumanity and simplistic innovation the Scientific Management tradition was striving to develop within the workplace. This paper challenges this orthodoxy and argues that the Human Relations school was in fact a right-wing and decidedly undemocratic innovation that was developed in response to the demand from organized labour that workers be ceded an active and significant part in management decision making. Invoking actor-network theory and specifically Callon and Latour’s sociology of ‘translation’ to organize our historical data, our primary objective is to explain how Mayo and the Human Relations school were able to translate the prevailing context and in so doing create a forum in which powerful actors came to agree that the Human Relations school was an innovation worth building and defending. Our central argument is that Human Relations school presented conservative business leaders such as John D. Rockefeller Jr with an innovation designed to enable them to both monopolize authority in the workplace and the wider community and justify this monopoly on the grounds that the minds of workers and citizens lacked the rationality required to participate in a significant manner in management decision making.
Inscribed Strategies: Exploring the Organizational Nature of Strategic Lock-in
Authors: Koch Jochen
Published: March 2011

An organization’s ability to act strategically under conditions of path dependence relies not only on the particular form of a strategic path but also on how this path is inscribed in an organization. To achieve a better understanding of this process, we shall introduce the concept of strategic path inscription and distinguish between mechanism inscription and pattern inscription. By referring to power, and formal and informal structures, the paper explores dimensions of the organizational context and its relation to strategic path inscription. The paper draws on an empirical study contrasting two established newspaper publishing organizations based in Germany. The comparative analysis of these cases reveals that in both organizations there are different forms of strategic pattern inscription but very similar forms of mechanism inscription. It is argued that the analysis of pattern inscription reveals much about the organizational nature of strategic lock-ins and, consequently, the range of variety that remains available to an organization after a specific path has emerged.
Rethinking deliberative democracy: From deliberative discourse to transformative dialogue
Authors: Healy Paul
Published: March 2011

Given its contribution to enhancing the inclusiveness, responsiveness, transparency and accountability of socio-political decision-making, the deliberative model has achieved considerable prominence in recent times as a basis for revitalizing democracy. But notwithstanding its strengths, it has also become clear that the deliberative proposal exhibits certain weaknesses that stand in need of correction if it is to realize its potential for revitalizing democracy in our contemporary pluralistic and multicultural world. Not surprisingly, then, there have been calls for significant modifications to the core proposal. Of particular interest for present purposes is Iris Marion Young’s call for a ‘communicative’ reappropriation of the standard model with a view to rendering it more inclusive of and responsive to difference.

While Young’s call for reconfiguring the deliberative template in a manner conducive to treating difference as a resource rather than as a barrier to unity is judicious and timely, the present article contends that her communicative proposal does not go far enough to achieve the envisaged outcomes. Instead, to enhance inclusiveness and responsiveness to difference in a manner conducive to promoting mutual understanding and potentially transformative learning, a thoroughgoing dialogical reappropriation is called for, along the lines defended here. Only in this way can the deliberative proposal live up to its pluralistic as well as inclusive intent. Moreover, far from being an external imposition, a dialogical reconfiguration of the requisite sort is rather a means of liberating potentials inherent in the deliberative proposal from the outset but typically suppressed by an undue emphasis on homogeneity, uniformity and consensus.
Land Acquisition for the Railways in Bengal, 1850–62
Authors: Sarkar Smritikumar
Published: March 2011

This article on the acquisition of land for the railways in Bengal, during the most formative phase of their construction in India, rejects the dominant notion of the trouble-free transfer of land. It examines the legal and social issues involved in acquiring land for public works. Based on the analysis of cases of both the individual and the village based reactions, the article suggests that the opposition to the land acquisition drive for early railways in Bengal had been both location and class specific. The intensity of the opposition sometimes forced the government of the East India Company to change the original route map of the railways. The people, Indian and European alike, were opposed mainly to the government’s policy of undervaluation of land and the uniform rate of compensation. In the post-1857 period, the speedy extension of the railways became a priority for the new government. Nevertheless, far from hardening its stand on land acquisition, British government adopted a conciliatory and more sensitive attitude to this contentious issue. The realignment of railroad, exclusion of sacred sites, location specific valuation of land and the policy of liberal compensation, discussed in this study, are all important evidence of this flexibility.
Blaming the Brahmins
Authors: Tieken Herman
Published: March 2011

Tamil literary history abounds in legends about texts lost and found. The theme resurfaces in modern literary history in descriptions of the rediscovery of classical Can.kam poetry at the end of the nineteenth century. If this poetic corpus has never been literally lost but has merely been invisible, circulating in the small circle of scholars, it is said to have been kept away by brahmins from its rightful owner, the Tamil people. Instead, the brahmins forced their own Sanskrit texts upon the Tamils. Curiously, this scenario, which is clearly indebted to the political idiom of the Dravidian movement, finds its most explicit expression in the works of two scholars, A.K. Ramanujan and K.V. Zvelebil, who, contary to their colleagues, past and present, working in Tamil Nadu itself, could easily have ignored any form of pressure from the political side. At the same time, both were men with strong literary ambitions, who as such have been carried away by literary fancy itself.
Passing on the Gospel: Indigenous Mission in Africa
Authors: Killingray David
Published: March 2011

African Christians, not foreign missionaries, have been largely responsible for the spread of the Christian Gospel across the continent. African Initiated Churches were often formed in reaction to foreign control, especially where it involved cultural and colonial racism. The article challenges the prevailing idea in the ‘West’ of ‘mission’ being confined to professional missionaries. It draws on Ghana for examples of how indigenous churches, since 1970, have increasingly become sending agencies involved in both ‘cross-cultural’ and ‘reverse mission’. It concludes by asking churches in Africa, and in the ‘West’, to think critically about how Gospel mission can be promoted and sustained.
The Visibility of Mission Agencies in General and USPG in Particular Among Recently Ordained Anglican Clergy: An Empirical Enquiry
Authors: Village Andrew , Francis Leslie J.
Published: March 2011

Attitudes toward mission agencies in general, and toward the United Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (USPG) in particular, were assessed using two 10-item scales completed by 833 recently ordained Anglican clergy from the UK. Clergy were generally positive toward mission agencies and willing for their churches to engage with them, but more reluctant to form personal links. Most clergy felt agencies should give priority to the relief of poverty and to development needs, rather than to spreading specifically Christian beliefs. Results for the USPG indicated more uncertain responses than for mission agencies generally, which probably indicated a lower visibility for this agency among some clergy, especially evangelicals.
Interdependent patterns of coping and support among close friends
Authors: Man Chow Chong , Buhrmester Duane
Published: March 2011

We introduced a 3 × 3 Coping—Support Interdependent Matrix for conceptualizing and investigating dyadic coping and support-giving among friends. By integrating attachment theory with the literatures on coping and support, we identified three prototypic patterns of coping (distance, utilize support, overwhelmed) and three prototypic patterns of support-giving (disengage, responsive, overinvolved). A sample of 113 pairs of college friends completed questionnaires assessing their own and their friend’s coping and support-giving patterns. An Actor—Partner Interdependence Model analysis revealed that utilize support coping was associated with friends’ responsive support-giving, overwhelmed coping was associated with overinvolved support-giving, and distance coping was associated with disengage support-giving. Coping and support patterns were found related in theoretically expected ways to ratings of friendship closeness and conflict.
An adaptation of the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale-Revised for use with children and adolescents
Authors: Brenning Katrijn , Soenens Bart , Braet Caroline , Bosmans Guy
Published: March 2011

The investigation of attachment processes during middle childhood and early adolescence has been hampered by a relative lack of measures for this age group differentiating between two fundamental attachment dimensions, that is, anxiety and avoidance. The aim of this study is to develop and validate a child version of the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale-Revised (referred to as the ECR-RC), a self-report questionnaire measuring attachment anxiety and avoidance. Two studies were conducted to examine the internal structure (Study 1, N = 514 and Study 2, N = 296) and construct and predictive validity (Study 2) of the ECR-RC. The ECR-RC appears to be a promising instrument to measure the two attachment dimensions in middle childhood and early adolescence.
Juvenile Participation in Conversations With Probation Officers
Authors: van Nijnatten Carolus , Stevens Gonneke
Published: March 2011

Juvenile probation work comprises a mixture of repressive and empowering strategies, since probation officers need to control young offenders’ conduct and at the same time help the offender to take responsibility and live life within the margins of society. This ambiguous nature of juvenile probation work may confuse the communication between probation officers and juveniles. Interviews with offenders of Moroccan origin and their probation officers in the Netherlands show that both parties are unhappy with the mutual communication. According to the youngsters, a restrictive policy is inevitable but might be more effective if this would go together with an empowering approach. Interactional analysis of the conversations shows that the lack of juvenile participation is caused by professional conversational dominance, as seen in topic control, poor role clarification, and a cross-examining style of the conversations.
Influence of drill geometry on thrust force in drilling GFRP composites
Authors: Latha B. , Senthilkumar V.S. , Palanikumar K.
Published: March 2011

In this article, influence of drill geometry on thrust force in drilling GFRP composites is analyzed. Glass fiber-reinforced composite materials are finding increased application in different fields such as automobile, ship building, sport goods, etc., due to their excellent properties. Drilling is indispensable process and it cannot be avoided for joining composite structures. In this study, drilling experiments are conducted on these composite materials using CNC drilling machine. Three different drill bits are used for the experimentation. The response analyzed is thrust force. The influence of drill geometry on thrust force in drilling of composite materials is carried out using three different drill bits, namely, ‘Brad and Spur’ drill, ‘multifaceted’ drill, and ‘step’ drill. The analyses of the results are carried out using effect graphs and three-dimensional graphs. The results indicated that the step drills are performing better than the other drills considered.
The fracture properties of environmental-friendly fiber metal laminates
Authors: Kuan H.T.N. , Cantwell W.J. , Hazizan Md. Akil , Santulli C.
Published: March 2011

The tensile and impact properties of environmental-friendly composites and FMLs have been investigated. Of the four composites investigated here, a SRPP composite offered superior properties to basalt-, flax-, and hemp fiber-reinforced PP composites. Adding aluminum layers to the outer surfaces of the composites resulted in a significant enhancement in the tensile and impact properties of the laminates. The tensile strength and modulus properties of the FMLs obey a rule of mixtures approach, suggesting that simple procedures can be used to design these hybrid systems. Under low-velocity impact loading, the SRPP, and its associated FML, offered the highest resistance to perforation, as a result of gross plastic deformation in the composite and metal plies. A semi-empirical model, previously employed to characterize metal plates, was used to characterize the low-velocity impact response of the laminates investigated here. The model was capable of predicting the trends in the experimental data with reasonable success. This evidence suggests that environmental-friendly fiber-based FMLs offer significant potential for use in engineering applications.
The enhancement of properties of TPNR/clay nanocomposites using ultrasonic treatment
Authors: Tarawneh Mou'ad A. , Ahmad Sahrim Hj. , Rasid Rozaidi , Yahya S.Y. , Noum Se Yong Eh
Published: March 2011

The main goal of this article was to study the effect of ultrasonic treatment time on the mechanical properties of thermoplastic natural rubber (TPNR) nanocomposites. The intercalation of TPNR enhancement into layers of clay by increasing d-spacing was found using XRD. TEM micrograph showed a combination of intercalated—exfoliated structure of the TPNR composites with organic clay. The tensile properties of nanocomposites treated with ultrasonic increased as compared with untreated nanocomposites. The optimum ultrasonic treatment time was obtained at 1 h with the addition of a coupling agent (12% PP-g-MA). DMA has shown that the storage modulus E' and loss modulus E'' of TPNR nanocomposites had improved as compared with TPNR, the optimum results with ultrasonic effect achieved at 1 and 3 h. Ultrasonic treatment can promote the dispersion of the clay in TPNR and also improve the compatibility of organoclay filler and the TPNR matrix.