bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Developments under the ADJR Act: The Grounds of Review
Authors: McMillan John
Published: January 2019

Administrative law folklore in Australia concentrated for so long on the amusing British cases that portrayed courts as unpredictable and interventionist. Colourful examples included Roberts v Hopwood, which saw the proposal of the Poplar Borough Council to pay equal wages to men and women overturned as an eccentric and feminist exercise in socialistic philanthropy; Prescott v Birmingham Corporation, which displayed the same judicial aversion to a Council proposal to provide free bus transport to elderly pensioners; and Padfield v Minister of Agriculture, which disparaged a naively expressed but politically understandable Ministerial decision not to conduct an enquiry into inefficiencies in a milk marketing scheme.

The Australian reality, it was often overlooked, was usually more predictable and less interventionist. A predominant theme was the pertinence of judicial restraint in penetrating the exercise of a broad administrative discretion. Accordingly, some of the foundation cases of Australian administrative law reached conclusions which, by contemporary standards, seem astonishing.
The ADJR Act: Its Effect on Taxation Administration
Authors: Bray Paul
Published: January 2019

The Australian Taxation Office (“ATO”) currently employs in excess of 18,000 staff engaged in collecting all the main taxes and charges imposed by Parliament (except customs, excise duties and departure taxes). For the year ended 30 June 1990, the ATO collected $75.96 billion in Commonwealth revenue. Through its National Office, sixteen Branch Offices and eighteen Regional Offices, the ATO received over 11 million income tax returns, issued over 8 million tax assessments, conducted over 25,000 audits and answered over 4 million taxpayer enquiries and requests for advisings during that year. These figures show that the work of the ATO is very much a matter of mass decision making.

It is not surprising, therefore, that the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977 (Cth) (“ADJR Act”) has had an effect on taxation administration. However, the perspective of the ATO is that the ADJR Act has had a substantial impact on some areas of that administration and little or no impact on others.
Law, Institutions and the Public/Private Divide
Authors: Sampford Charles
Published: January 2019

Rhetorically and ideologically, the nineteen eighties has been a decade in which the individual has held centre stage. From American Express advertisements to the assumptions of neo-classical economists (and back again), Western society is imagined to be, and justified as, a society of autonomous self regarding individuals. Yet for all that, we remain a society of institutions. We live our lives largely in (and, to a significant extent, through) the institutions where we grow up, work, play and procreate. Institutions dominate virtually every area of social life and simultaneously sustain and infuriate us by providing the best and the worst experiences of our daily lives. We seem to be forever complaining about them and often seek to change or supplant them. But few believe that we should, or even could, do away with them and recreate a society of free willing individuals without institutional links and ties. Those who want to get rid of the family generally want more egalitarian and supportive structures.
Australia and the Right to Adequate Housing
Authors: Devereux Annemarie
Published: January 2019

Although some fifteen years have passed since Australia ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and so incurred an obligation to respect, protect, promote and ensure each individual's “right to adequate housing”, in Australia the right remains little more than a rhetorical tool used by welfare activists. Despite the increased political and legal profIle of human rights in Australia with the establishment of such bodies as the Commonwealth's Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC), the “right to .adequate housing”, like many other economic rights, has been largely ignored. In an attempt to highlight the gap between Australia's international commibnent and its domestic response, the first part of this paper examines the Eontent and implications of the right to adequate housing and Australia's obligation under Article 11 of the ICESCR. The second part focuses on the Federal Goyernment's response, discussing in particular the absence of any legal provision· for the right's protection and the lack of comprehensive administrative policies aimed at the right's progressive realisation. For the purposes of this latter discussion, a case study of federal policies concerning the homeless, a group most apparently lacking in “adequate housing”, demonstrates the extent to which administrative policies continue to embrace notions of “worthiness” rather than “universal dignity”, making realisation of a “right to adequate housing” impossible.
Form and Substance: ‘Discrimination’ in Modern Constitutional Law
Authors: Zines Leslie
Published: January 2019

The concept of discrimination has been assuming a greater role in various aspects of constitutional interpretation. It has been prominent for many decades in the area of implied federal restrictions on Commonwealth power to bind the States, which received some revitalisation in the Queensland Electricity Commission v Commonwealth. It has, more recently, become the central core of the operation of s 92 of the Constitution (Cole v Whitfield). It has been given new life and prominence in the application of s 117 of the Constitution in Street v Queensland Bar Association. Four judges in Philip Morris Ltd v Commissioner of Business Franchises (Dawson, Toohey, Gaudron and McHugh JJ) suggested that there were something to be said for the view - earlier supported by Fullagar and Murphy JJ - that the test for an excise duty should be whether a tax discriminated against goods manufactured in the State in which the tax is levied. This, however, must await a complete judicial review of the operation of s 90.
Converging Constitutions: A Comparative Analysis of Constitutional Law in the United States and Australia
Authors: Rich William
Published: January 2019

Constitutional jurisprudence in the United States and Australia is said to be separated by two factors: an entrenched Bill of Rights and the doctrine of parliamentary supremacy. Views of this distinction have been expressed by a succession of High Court Chief Justices.
Ownership of Copyright in Traditional Literary Works within Universities
Authors: Monotti Ann L
Published: January 2019

For some time, universities have appreciated the commercial significance of ownership of patents and inventions produced during employment and address this both in contracts and university statutes. However, one cannot say the same about copyright. Until relatively recently, there were few contractual or internal university statutory provisions for copyright ownership so statute and common law principles governed the position. This absence of contractual provisions, combined with the general lack of institutional concern for testing and enforcing copyright ownership rights, resulted in uncertainty as to where ownership rights reside. In recent years, this uncertainty has become a major concern for institutions which are now anxious to know the extent to which they can enforce copyright ownership rights. Universities generally have begun to take a more active interest in the economic benefits of exploiting intellectual property in academic works and, in particular, in exploiting copyright. There are many factors responsible for this change in attitude.
‘No comment’? A study of commenting on PLOS articles
Authors: Wakeling Simon , Willett Peter , Creaser Claire , Fry Jenny , Pinfield Stephen , Spezi Valerie , Bonne Marc , Founti Christina , Medina Perea Itzelle
Published: January 2019

Article–commenting functionality allows users to add publicly visible comments to an article on a publisher’s website. As well as facilitating forms of post-publication peer review, for publishers of open-access mega-journals (large, broad scope, open-access journals that seek to publish all technically or scientifically sound research) comments are also thought to serve as a means for the community to discuss and communicate the significance and novelty of the research, factors which are not assessed during peer review. In this article we present the results of an analysis of commenting on articles published by the Public Library of Science (PLOS), publisher of the first and best-known mega-journal PLOS ONE, between 2003 and 2016. We find that while overall commenting rates are low, and have declined since 2010, there is substantial variation across different PLOS titles. Using a typology of comments developed for this research, we also find that only around half of comments engage in an academic discussion of the article and that these discussions are most likely to focus on the paper’s technical soundness. Our results suggest that publishers are yet to encourage significant numbers of readers to leave comments, with implications for the effectiveness of commenting as a means of collecting and communicating community perceptions of an article’s importance.
Agency and Time Representation in English and Dutch Speakers
Authors: Loermans Annemijn C. , de Koning Björn B. , Krabbendam Lydia
Published: January 2019

Research reveals that the ego- and time-moving representations, two divergent ways to talk and think about time, are psychologically meaningful: They are, for example, linked to agency. This research has, however, mainly been correlational in nature and only been conducted amongst English speakers, even though cross-linguistic differences are readily observed in research on time representation. The present research addresses these limitations. In the first study, we explore the causal relation amongst English speakers and show that feelings of personal agency lead to the adoption of the ego-moving representation. In the second and third study, we replicate the first study and conduct a correlational study amongst Dutch speakers. We find no proof for a similar relation between agency and time representation amongst Dutch speakers. In discussing the findings, the role language plays in shaping preferences is considered as well as the methodological issues that need to be addressed by future research.
Effectiveness of acupuncture for vascular cognitive impairment no dementia: a randomized controlled trial
Authors: Yang Jing-Wen , Shi Guang-Xia , Zhang Shuai , Tu Jian-Feng , Wang Li-Qiong , Yan Chao-Qun , Lin Lu-Lu , Liu Bao-Zhen , Wang Jun , Sun San-Feng , Yang Bo-Feng , Wu Li-Yu , Tan Cheng , Chen Sheng , Zhang Zhang-Jin , Fisher Marc , Liu Cun-Zhi
Published: January 2019

Objective:

To evaluate the effectiveness of acupuncture in patients with vascular cognitive impairment no dementia (VCIND) in comparison with citicoline, an agent for cognitive disturbances associated with chronic cerebral disorders.

Design:

A randomized controlled multicenter trial.

Setting:

In three hospitals in Beijing, China.

Subjects:

A total of 216 patients with VCIND were recruited.

Interventions:

Patients with VCIND (mean age of 65.4 years) were randomized to receive acupuncture (two sessions per week) or oral citicoline (100 mg three times daily) over three months.

Main measures:

The primary outcome was the change from baseline to three months in cognitive symptom, measured by Alzheimer’s disease Assessment Scale, cognitive subscale (ADAS-cog). Secondary outcomes included changes from baseline to six months in ADAS-cog, executive function measured by the Clock Drawing Test (CDT), and functional disability measured by the Ability of Daily Living (ADL) scale at three and six months.

Results:

At three months, the acupuncture group had a greater decrease in mean ADAS-cog score (−2.33 ± 0.31) than the citicoline group (−1.38 ± 0.34) with a mean difference of −0.95 (95% CI, −1.84 to −0.07, P = 0.035). The mean change from baseline to six months in ADAS-cog also significantly favored acupuncture treatments (acupuncture change −2.61 vs citicoline −1.25, difference: −1.36 points; 95% CI, −2.20 to −0.51; P = 0.002). There was no difference between the two groups on CDT and ADL scores at either time point.

Conclusion:

Compared with citicoline, acupuncture has comparable and even superior efficacy with improved cognitive and daily living performance as a complementary and alternative medicine treatment for VCIND.
No evidence of effectiveness of mirror therapy early after stroke: an assessor-blinded randomized controlled trial
Authors: Antoniotti Paola , Veronelli Laura , Caronni Antonio , Monti Alessia , Aristidou Evdoxia , Montesano Maria , Corbo Massimo
Published: January 2019

Objective:

The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of mirror therapy on upper-limb recovery in early post-stroke patients.

Design:

Assessor-blinded randomized controlled trial.

Setting:

Inpatient rehabilitation clinic.

Subjects:

A total of 40 patients with upper-limb impairment due to a first-ever ischaemic or haemorrhagic stroke, within four weeks from the cerebrovascular accident.

Intervention:

The intervention group received mirror therapy, while the control group received sham therapy. During mirror therapy, patients’ sound hand was reflected by a mirror. During sham therapy, an opaque surface replaced the mirror-reflecting surface. Both the mirror therapy and sham therapy groups practised their sound hand with exercises, ranging from the simple elbow flexion–extension to complex tasks (e.g. reaching and grasping). Mirror therapy and sham therapy were added to conventional rehabilitation.

Main measures:

Primary outcome includes Fugl–Meyer upper extremity scale. Secondary outcomes include action research arm test (ARAT) and functional independence measure (FIM) scale. Outcomes were measured at the beginning (T0) and end (T1) of the treatment.

Results:

At baseline, both groups (sham therapy vs. mirror therapy; mean (SD)) were comparable for Fugl–Meyer (30.9 (23.9) vs. 28.5 (21.8)), ARAT (25.1 (25.5) vs. 23.5 (24)) and FIM (71.0 (20.6) vs. 72.9 (17.8)) scores. At the end of the treatment, both groups significantly improved in the Fugl–Meyer (40.6 (21.3) vs. 38.3 (23.4)), ARAT (31.9 (23.0) vs. 30 (24.1)) and FIM (100.3 (21.9) vs. 99.4 (22.6)) scores. However, at T1, no significant difference was observed between the sham therapy and mirror therapy groups, neither for the Fugl–Meyer, nor for ARAT and FIM scores.

Conclusion:

Compared with sham therapy, mirror therapy did not add additional benefit to upper-limb recovery early after stroke.
Acute alcohol effects on impulsive choice in adolescents
Authors: Bernhardt Nadine , Obst Elisabeth , Nebe Stephan , Pooseh Shakoor , Wurst Friedrich M , Weinmann Wolfgang , Smolka Michael N , Zimmermann Ulrich S
Published: January 2019

Background:

Neurodevelopmental and alcohol-induced changes in decision-making have been proposed to critically influence impulsive behaviour in adolescents.

Objective:

This study tested the influence of acute alcohol administration on impulsive choice in adolescents.

Methods:

Fifty-four males aged 18–19 years were tested in a single-blind placebo-controlled cross-over design. During alcohol administration (infusion resulting in an arterial blood alcohol concentration of 80 mg%) and placebo condition (saline infusion), participants performed a task battery providing estimates of delay discounting, probability discounting for gains, for losses and loss aversion, and also rated subjectively experienced alcohol effects. Additionally, baseline alcohol consumption (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, blood phosphatidylethanol levels), motives (Drinking Motive Questionnaire, Alcohol Expectancy Questionnaire and Obsessive Compulsive Drinking Scale), family history and self-report measures of impulsivity (Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, Substance Use Risk Profile Scale) were provided.

Results:

No overall effects of treatment on choice behaviour were found. However, individual differences were observed. In the alcohol condition, more impulsive choice tendencies for delay discounting were associated with higher subjectively experienced alcohol effects. Further, higher risk aversion for probabilistic gains and higher loss aversion during alcohol condition were related to higher levels of real-life alcohol consumption and a family history of alcohol problems, respectively. Finally, the time to make a decision was substantially shortened for choices involving negative prospects.

Conclusions:

Contrary to common beliefs, acute alcohol intoxication did not generally incite impulsive decision-making. It rather appears that alcohol-induced behavioural changes in adolescents vary considerably depending on prior experiences and subjective effects of alcohol.
Investigation of the reinforcing potential of samidorphan and naltrexone by fixed and progressive ratio intravenous self-administration testing in heroin-maintained rats
Authors: Smith Sharon L , Dean Reginald L , Todtenkopf Mark S , Heal David J
Published: January 2019

Background:

Samidorphan is a novel μ-opioid antagonist with low intrinsic activity at κ- and δ-opioid receptors.

Aims:

Because samidorphan is central nervous system-active, we investigated whether samidorphan (13.6, 40.8, 68 μg/kg/injection) served as a positive reinforcer in rats trained to self-administer heroin on a fixed ratio-5 schedule. Samidorphan’s relative reinforcing effect was evaluated by progressive ratio/break-point determination. Naltrexone (13.6, 40.8, 68 μg/kg/injection) and heroin (7.5, 15, 25 μg/kg/injection) were comparators.

Results:

All heroin doses maintained self-administration on fixed ratio-5 and progressive ratio/break-points at levels significantly greater than saline. Samidorphan and naltrexone had similar profiles on fixed ratio-5 with one samidorphan dose serving as a positive reinforcer and one naltrexone dose showing a strong trend ( p=0.053) for positive reinforcement. The numbers of injections of every samidorphan and naltrexone dose were significantly lower than all heroin doses. The numbers of self-administered samidorphan and naltrexone injections/session on fixed ratio-5 were not significantly different from one another. The mean inter-injection intervals for heroin were significantly shorter than for saline, whereas those of samidorphan and naltrexone were not. Progressive ratio break-points for samidorphan and naltrexone were not different from saline except for the highest dose of samidorphan. In addition, the progressive ratio break-points for samidorphan were not significantly different from those of naltrexone and were significantly lower than heroin. The samidorphan unit-doses evaluated in self-administration yielded plasma concentrations ranging between 25–109% and 10–45% of the maximum concentration values in humans.

Conclusions:

Overall, the profiles of samidorphan and naltrexone, which has no abuse liability, were similar in this model.
Computed diffusion-weighted imaging for acute pediatric encephalitis/encephalopathy
Authors: Kamata Yuji , Shinohara Yuki , Kuya Keita , Tsubouchi Yoshiko , Saito Yoshiaki , Maegaki Yoshihiro , Fujii Shinya , Ogawa Toshihide
Published: January 2019

Background

Computed diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) (cDWI) is a computational technique that can be used to calculate a high b-value image from DWI acquired with at least two different lower b-values.

Purpose

To explore the utility of cDWI for the diagnosis of acute pediatric encephalitis/encephalopathy.

Material and Methods

Twenty-two children were enrolled, for whom acquired DWI (aDWI) with b = 1000 and 3000 was examined during the acute phase of febrile encephalitis/encephalopathy. For each patient, cDWI was calculated pixel by pixel from aDWI b = 0 and 1000 images by using software equipped with a commercially available image viewer. Quantitative assessment was performed by calculating a signal intensity (SI) ratio, defined as the mean SI of the affected lesion/the mean SI at the center of the pons for each image. The Mann–Whitney test was used for statistical analysis of the SI ratios of cDWI b = 3000 versus aDWI b = 1000 and cDWI b = 3000 versus aDWI b = 3000. A P value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results

The SI ratio of cDWI b = 3000 images was significantly higher than that of aDWI b = 1000 images ( P = 0.0391), whereas the SI ratio of cDWI b = 3000 images was not significantly different from that of aDWI b = 3000 images ( P = 0.991).

Conclusion

cDWI b = 3000 is useful for detecting diffusion-restricted lesions in acute pediatric encephalitis/encephalopathy compared to aDWI b = 1000 and 3000. cDWI enables the generation of high b-value images without additional scanning, which will be helpful for sedated pediatric patients in clinical settings.
Disposable and Autoclavable Anaesthetic Circuits: The Future is Now
Authors: Komesaroff D.
Published: January 2019

The potential transmission of disease by anaesthetic and ventilator breathing circuits has resulted in the widespread use of filters. Convincing scientific evidence of their complete efficacy is lacking particularly in regard to viruses. In the past, practical difficulties precluded the use of new or autoclavable equipment for successive patients, particularly if ventilators were required. These have been overcome by the development of disposable and autoclavable carbon dioxide absorbers and breathing circuits. Disposable equipment is more expensive than filters but autoclavable circuits and absorbers are of comparable cost or cheaper.
Screening for HIV: Ratios, Risks and Rationality
Authors: Jones M. E.
Published: January 2019

Screening patients or heathcare workers for Human Immunodeficiency Virus is unlikely to be cost-effective if the benefit is seen only as the prevention of infection of one group by the other within the healthcare institution. Overwhelmingly, the benefit of screening comes from interrupting the chains of infection within the ongoing epidemic in the population at large.
Rebuilding the Distress Thresholds for Pavement Warranty Program in Mississippi
Authors: Luo Xiaohua , Wang Feng , Wang Ningning , Tao Jueqiang , Qiu Xin , Amini Farshad
Published: January 2019

Pavement warranty is an innovative contracting procedure increasingly adopted by state transportation agencies to protect investment in pavement construction and maintenance. In Mississippi, the pavement warranty program was initiated in 2000 and the pavement distress thresholds were set based on the deduct points calculated by conversion equations from distress measurements of unacceptable pavement conditions. The conversion of distress measurements into deduct points using empirically regressed conversion equations has been questioned, however, on the grounds that it actually reduces the accuracy of the objective distress measurements by adding subjective and random errors. Moreover, the validity and applicability of continual use of these conversion equations has become problematic with time, because the equations were empirically developed in the 1990s, reflecting the data, experience, and technologies at that time. This research aims to develop analytically new distress thresholds based on direct measurements of pavement distresses for the pavement warranty program in Mississippi. The bootstrapping method was employed to process the skewed historical distress measurement data into normal distributions. The upper bound of confidence interval or standard deviations of the normalized distress measurement data was determined as an alternative method to rebuild the threshold for each distress type. The confusion matrix was employed to consider a smooth transition of updating the thresholds from the current deduct point based system to a new measurement based system. This study provides a practical procedure for developing a set of measurement based thresholds to renew the pavement warranty program using the available pavement management system data.
Do You Want to Learn Physics? Please Play Angry Birds (But With Epistemic Goals)
Authors: de Aldama Carlos , Pozo Juan-Ignacio
Published: January 2019

For some years now, the scientific community has been studying how videogames foster acquisition of mental representations of the world around us. Research to date suggests that the efficiency of videogames as learning tools largely depends on the instructional design in which they are included. This article provides empirical evidence related to the use of the videogame Angry Birds and how it can modify students’ conceptions regarding object motion. We selected a sample of 110 16- to 17-year-old students in postcompulsory secondary school. Both quantitative and qualitative data are provided. Our results show that (a) merely playing Angry Birds does not produce significant learning, (b) learning occurs when Angry Birds is guided by epistemic goals. Students who used the videogame in this way were able to recognize more variables, provide better explanations, and understand more fully the relationship between angle and distance, (c) naïf belief regarding the effect of mass on falling objects (“mass-speed belief”) remained unchanged after using Angry Birds guided either pragmatic or epistemic goals, and (d) there was no significant difference between students who worked collaboratively in pairs and those who worked individually. In the light of these results, we discuss potential implications for the future.
A Critical Cultural Wealth Model of First-Generation and Economically Marginalized College Students’ Academic and Career Development
Authors: Garriott Patton O.
Published: January 2019

First-generation and economically marginalized (FGEM) college students are attending higher education institutions with increasing regularity. The unique experiences of these students call for career frameworks that capture their specific strengths and challenges. This article outlines a new model from which to conceptualize FGEM college students’ academic and career development with a focus on structural, environmental, and intrapersonal factors previously shown to predict their academic and career success. Social–emotional crossroads and career self-authorship are positioned as central constructs in the model and proposed as critical pathways to FGEM students’ academic and career development. Cultural wealth is offered as a form of capital that may promote FGEM students’ academic and career success. Implications for future research, practice, and policy with FGEM students are described.
Neural network–based sliding-mode control of a tendon sheath–actuated compliant rescue manipulator
Authors: Wu Qingcong , Wang Xingsong , Chen Bai , Wu Hongtao
Published: January 2019

The novel contribution of this article is to propose a neural network–based sliding-mode control strategy for improving the position-control performance of a tendon sheath–actuated compliant rescue manipulator. Structural design of a rescue robot with slender and compliant mechanical structure is introduced. The developed robot is capable of drilling into the narrow space under debris and accommodating complicated configuration in ruins. Dynamics modeling and parameters identification of a compliant gripper with flexible tendon sheath transmission are researched and discussed. Moreover, the neural network–based sliding-mode control scheme developed based on radial basis function network is proposed to improve the position-control accuracy of the gripper with modeling uncertainties and external disturbances. The stability of the proposed control system is demonstrated using Lyapunov stability theory. Further experimental investigation including trajectory-tracking experiments and step-response experiments are conducted to confirm the effectiveness of the proposed neural network–based sliding-mode control scheme. Experimental results show that the proposed neural network–based sliding-mode control scheme is superior to cascaded proportional–integral–derivative controller and conventional sliding-mode controller in position-control application.
Ginsenoside Rg1 Accelerates Paracrine Activity and Adipogenic Differentiation of Human Breast Adipose-Derived Stem Cells in a Dose-Dependent Manner In Vitro
Authors: Liang Zhi-Jie , Lu Xiang , Zhu Dan-Dan , Yi Xiao-Lin , Wu Fang-Xiao , He Ning , Tang Chao , Wei Chang-Yuan , Li Hong-Mian
Published: January 2019

Augmenting the biological function of adipose-derived stromal cells (ASCs) is a promising approach to promoting tissue remodeling in regenerative medicine. Here, we examined the effect of ginsenoside Rg1 on the paracrine activity and adipogenic differentiation capacity of human breast ASCs (hbASCs) in vitro. hbASCs were isolated and characterized in terms of stromal cell surface markers and multipotency. Third-passage hbASCs were cultured in basic media only or basic media containing different concentrations of G-Rg1 (0.1–100 μM). Cell proliferation was assessed by CCK-8 assay. Paracrine activity was assessed using ELISA. Gene expression was measured by qRT-PCR. Adipogenic differentiation capacity was evaluated by Oil red O staining. We found that hbASCs differentiated into adipocytes, osteoblasts, and chondrocytes in appropriate induction culture medium. hbASCs showed expression of CD29, CD44, CD49d, CD73, CD90, CD105, and CD133 but not CD31 and CD45 surface markers. G-Rg1 increased hbASC proliferation and adipogenic differentiation capacity at lower concentrations (0.1–1 μM) and had the opposite effects at higher concentrations (10–100 μM), while enhanced paracrine activity was observed in all experimental groups compared with control group, and the activation effect of lower concentration G-Rg1 was greater than at higher concentration. These results indicate that G-Rg1 can enhance the proliferation, paracrine activity, and adipogenic differentiation capacity of hbASCs within a certain concentration range. Therefore, the use of G-Rg1 may be beneficial to ASC-assisted fat graft regeneration and soft tissue engineering.
Crossmedia Flows of Documentary Images and the Transnational Communicative Figuration Surrounding Gestational Surrogacy in India
Authors: Schneider Nadja-Christina
Published: January 2019

The article is based on the assumption that documentary films are an important ‘ channel of mediation’ (Strathern, 2002, Journal of Molecular Biology, 319(4), 985–993) that helps make visible the changing configurations of family, kinship and social reproduction. It further assumes that documentary images of egg donors, medical procedures, fertility clinics, delivery or labouring bodies of surrogates, and handing over of a ‘commodified’ newborn baby to the commissioning parents effectively convey the repercussions that gestational surrogacy has for all the medicalised bodies which are involved in the transnational processes of reproduction. Widely circulated and received documentaries such as Google Baby (2009), House of Surrogates (2013), Ma Na Sapna: A Mother’s Dream (2013) or Can We See the Baby Bump Please? (2013) often function as a starting point and major reference for the debate about this complex issue. But while academic or journalistic articles mostly refer to individual films and on the theme in focus, the different context(s) of the medium itself are less reflected upon. Documentary filmmaking is of course always situated in a specific sociopolitical context, and this in turn shapes the way in which the visual medium make us, as non-experts, see and learn. It also forms the basis of our quest for more knowledge and better understanding, that is, in this case of the transnational entanglements in the field of assisted reproductive technologies. In addition to that, like any other medium or media-related practice today, documentary filmmaking is also embedded in profoundly transformed media environments, networks and communicative practices. In order to understand how information and knowledge about split parenthood and gestational surrogacy is mediated to transnational audiences and framed in public discussions, it is thus necessary to shed light on the interconnectedness of different media forms and framings through which the communication around this complex topic has formed. Instead of a close reading of selected documentaries, the article therefore attempts to trace and contextualise the crossmedial and translocal itineraries of three key images and central tropes that have influenced the framing of transnational reproduction and gestational surrogacy in India significantly: (a) the medical authority-cum-media actor (i.e., internationally well-known fertility expert and doctor in charge, Dr Nayana Patel), (b) the surrogacy hostels and dormitories (i.e., the central symbol of constant surveillance and control of surrogates) and (c) the metaphor of ‘rented/hired wombs’ (i.e., the notion of a passive provision of body parts and understanding of gestational surrogacy as active labour).
A Tale of Many Roads: India’s Approach to Connectivity Projects in Eurasia
Authors: Purushothaman Uma , Unnikrishnan Nandan
Published: January 2019

The Eurasian supercontinent has again assumed importance in world politics in the context of the declining power of the USA, the rise of India and China and Russia’s return to global geopolitics. At the same time, ‘connectivity’ has become the catchphrase in the supercontinent, thanks to China’s aggressive pushing of its Belt Road Initiative (BRI).  This article examines India’s approaches to connectivity projects in Eurasia, including those in its immediate neighbourhood. It argues that India’s approach to connectivity-related cooperation ideas in the region like the BRI is not uniform despite the economic advantages some of these projects offer. India appears to view such projects to a significant extent through the prism of geostrategic and security interests. Finally, it examines the implications of India’s approach to connectivity for India as well as the broader region.
Reformulating the Worker Identity: Men’s Experiences After Radical Prostatectomy
Authors: Yu Ko Wellam F. , Oliffe John L. , Johnson Joy L. , Bottorff Joan L.
Published: January 2019

The number of men in the Canadian workforce who have prostate cancer is increasing. The purpose of the study was to explore the processes involved in men’s return to work post radical prostatectomy and understand how these events are connected to masculinities. Drawing on data collected through individual interviews with 24 participants, constructivist grounded theory method was used to develop the substantive theory of Reformulating the Worker Identity which comprises two processes, recovering after radical prostatectomy and renegotiating work expectations. Recovering after radical prostatectomy revealed how men overcame side effects at home and evaluated their potential for returning to work. Renegotiating work expectations included participant’s strategies for securing graduated return to work accommodations. Study findings revealed that the challenges for fully returning to work post prostatectomy are often underestimated by clinicians and patients. In this context, preempting return to work challenges preoperatively might allay significant anxieties for many men.
Superintendent Compensation and System Quality: Exploring a Chronicle of Wishful Thinking
Authors: Poston William K.
Published: January 2019

Fragmentation is the process by which we take things apart and study the parts as a means to understanding the whole. This is an appropriate model for mechanical systems, but for organizations, it is the interaction among the parts that makes things happen.

—(Graff, 1995)
Career Choices from the Heart
Authors: Jenkins John M.
Published: January 2019

To find joy in work is the greatest thing for a human being.

—Harry Roberts
Principal Leadership and Professional Learning Communities: What Beginning Teachers Value
Authors: Wynn Susan R. , Brown Kathleen M.
Published: January 2019

Beginning teachers in the United States continue to exit the classroom in alarming numbers, despite numerous recruitment and retention strategies. High turnover rates negatively affect instruction and, ultimately, student achievement. The purpose of this empirical inquiry of beginning-teacher retention issues is to better understand what new teachers value in a school leader within the context of professional learning communities. Twelve schools with low beginning-teacher attrition and transfer request rates were identified, and focus group interviews were conducted with four to six new teachers in each school (i.e., teachers with 1 to 3 years of experience, N = 61). Findings indicate that beginning teachers relate principal leadership, mentoring, and professional learning communities to their job satisfaction.
Student Bullying and Harassment in a Cyberage: The Legal Ambiguity of Disciplining Students for Cyberbullying
Authors: Brady Kevin P.
Published: January 2019

This article details the growth of student-based cyberbullying in the United States. The article argues that the current legal limbo of student speech issues originating in cyberspace has unfortunately led to inconsistent lower court decisions that continue to confuse as well as frustrate today's educators and parents who are required to confront student-based cyberbullying issues. The U.S. Supreme Court's 2007 decision in Morse v. Frederick, the Court's most recent student free speech case, symbolizes a missed opportunity by the United States’ highest court to develop clearer legal guidelines involving the regulation of student's off-campus speech and expression—namely, student cyberspeech.
Improving Elementary Science Education in a Developing Country: A Case Study from Fiji
Authors: Taylor Neil , Maiwaikatakata Tema , Biukoto Emele , Suluma Wili , Coll Richard K.
Published: January 2019

Improved science education is seen as an important goal for many developing countries. The role of elementary science is of particular importance, given that research has shown a high correlation between economic growth and the time spent on elementary science education. However, the teaching of science in many developing countries is dominated by a highly traditional didactic approach that many researchers believe fails to develop the understanding of scientific concepts in learners. The project discussed in this article formed part of much wider reforms aimed at improving science education in Fiji. We report on efforts to improve teacher education in elementary science in Fiji, using an innovative teaching approach consisting of pedagogy based on a constructivist-informed view of learning. The study indicated that a constructivist-based teaching approach could be effective in supporting science learning and enhancing students’ enjoyment of this subject. The findings may have implications for other science-based teacher education projects undertaken in the context of developing countries, especially when considering that this initiative will articulate with changes to the system of assessment in elementary schools.
Can Morals be Taught? An Exploratory Study on Recent Changes in the Japanese Moral Education Curriculum
Authors: Sakamoto Robin
Published: January 2019

Compulsory moral education has been included in the Japanese national curriculum since 1872. Recent demographic trends have created an unstable society, and with the increase in heinous juvenile crimes, urgent demands are being made for a more effective program. Japan's Education Reform Plan for the 21st Century has as its second major strategy the improvement of moral education. The results of this exploratory study find that over 80% of third-grade elementary students can comprehend a moral theme from their text once it has been taught. Further discussion provides lessons to be learned from Japan for Western character education specialists as well as curriculum development specialists.
Teaching and Learning in Australian Transnational Higher Education: Distilling Principles of Quality from Stakeholder Accounts
Authors: Pyvis David , Chapman Anne
Published: January 2019

This article provides an overview of the progress of efforts to formulate quality frameworks for Australian higher education delivered overseas, notably in the Asian region. With the quest for quality frameworks for Australian transnational higher education established as the context, the article then traces our work to draw out and establish principles of quality that might inform such frameworks. Distinguishing this work is the endeavor to extract understandings about the constitution of quality in Australian transnational higher education. The article reports initial findings of ongoing empirical research into academic stakeholders’ perspectives on issues of quality in teaching and learning in transnational programs aimed at developing principles to enhance quality frameworks.
Education Reform as Platform for Promoting Lifelong Learning: The Case of Hong Kong
Authors: Poon-McBrayer Kim Fong
Published: January 2019

The fierce competition largely brought by the globalization of a knowledge-based economy provided an impetus for the Hong Kong government to endorse massive education reforms in 2000, as proposed by the Education Commission, as the central strategy to improve and sustain workforce quality and social justice through the provision of lifelong learning for all. The purpose of this article is to provide a preliminary analysis of the impact of reforms on lifelong learning thus far, through an examination of its implementation in the higher education sector and the operation of the qualifications framework. A comparison between the policymaking of the Education Commission and the Education Bureau was made to demonstrate how the process affected resulting policies. The preliminary analysis presented a pessimistic outlook, and implications for policies and practices to achieve lifelong learning were discussed. Key recommendations for future success included balancing the conflicting demands and interests, using wisdom and tact, without losing sight of upholding the quality of educational outcomes.
Higher Education Reform in South Korea: Perspectives on the New University for Regional Innovation Program
Authors: Choi Sheena , Yeom Minho
Published: January 2019

The New University for Regional Innovation (NURI) is one of the South Korean Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development's key projects supporting regional universities. NURI aims to develop areas of specialization in regional universities and link universities to local industries. In 2004, the South Korean government pledged to invest 1.24 trillion Korean won (approximately US$1.24 billion) in the project over a 5-year period. This study examines the NURI policy and implementation process from the bottom-up perspectives discovered during semistructured interviews with key stakeholders. The results indicate an overall consensus that NURI has contributed to the improvement of education in regional universities. Yet, skepticism lingers concerning the potential for the program to achieve structural reform. This study suggests there is an urgent need for a comprehensive central intervention that can deliver structural reforms and balanced development.
Rhetoric, Distortions, and Responsibility: Illusion and Reality in Education Reform
Authors: Korotkova Maria , Snyder Conrad Wesley
Published: January 2019

The process of education reform takes place in a highly politicized environment. Language plays an important part in the characterization of the reform, and the words used connect the reform to higher ideals, usually extensive to the local environment but signifying some opportunity for progress. The language is frequently decoupled from the reform and can distort the perceived policy and activity environment to create a qualitative advantage while the mechanisms of change play through their agendas. When ambiguity exists in the characterizations of the reform, there are risks that the apparent progress will result in confused hierarchies of authority. That is, the ambiguities enable strange loops to flourish without attention by management in addressing the complexities in reform. The result is the regression of the reform, re-forming to a previous state as if reform was necessary again.
Is Racial Segregation Changing in Charter Schools?
Authors: Lee Jin , Lubienski Christopher
Published: January 2019

Charter schools embody the theoretical potential to promote integration since they can draw students from across district boundaries that often reflect segregated residential patterns. While a number of studies have examined overall racial composition of charter schools, virtually no attention has been paid to how charter school enrollment patterns may have changed over time—a key for understanding the potential of these schools to exacerbate or ameliorate student sorting. We examine questions of school mix by comparing the integration indices of charter schools over time. The analysis indicates that integration in charter schools has improved slightly in the majority of states but that in several states charter schools are seeing increased segregation.
Reforming U.S. Education for the Academic Study of Religion
Authors: Waggoner Michael D.
Published: January 2019

Religion and spirituality are gaining renewed appreciation as key elements of the cultural milieu. Yet there has been an inattention to the academic study of religion and spirituality in U.S. education due to several contributing causes. Central to remediating this deficiency is an understanding of these causes and how the reform of key factors in higher education may play a part. This article outlines several conditions contributing to this “failure to engage” the ideas of religion and spirituality in the academy and notes some encouraging trends that may provide opportunities for progress.
“The Peaceful and Constructive Battle”: UNESCO and Education for International Understanding in History and Geography, 1947–1967
Authors: White John
Published: January 2019

From its beginning, UNESCO made education for international understanding in school history and geography a priority. As these were the areas where children were most likely to encounter nationalism in state schools, a reform of these subjects was critical to the success of education for international understanding. The experience of two world wars and the threat of further conflict created a sense of urgency that sometimes allowed historical scholarship to be sacrificed for ideological ends. The major contributions of UNESCO in history education were pedagogical and involved new ways of organizing the subject for school instruction.
Alternatives to Suspension: A Government Initiative
Authors: Ryan Thomas G. , Zoldy Scott
Published: January 2019

Student discipline and the ineffectiveness of out-of-school suspension is examined in light of the Ontario (Canada) legislative reform that supported a greater emphasis on progressive discipline alternatives to out-of-school suspension. Alternative discipline herein is explored via the behavior education plan, the school survival group, and conflict resolution training. As well, the need for alternative learning programs and school centers has been illuminated within a positive discipline mode, which may include various programs, advisory centers, as well as behaviorist and diagnostic approaches.
The Academy is Flat: Using Technology to Create Authentic Multicultural Education
Authors: Roberts Gary O. , Monroe-Baillargeon Ann
Published: January 2019

Thomas Freidman (2005) asserts that technology has created a transnational platform for communication, collaboration, and competition that is stimulating global opportunity for all individuals. After years of robust study abroad programs and the recent “bricks and mortar” expansion of U.S. higher education overseas, we are now seeing the true “flattening” of the academy. Ubiquitous web-based videoconferencing, learning management systems, and social media websites are further breaking down the boundaries to international collaboration and empowering individual faculty, outside of institutional support, to create rich technology-facilitated multicultural learning environments.