bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Relationship of depression with cognitive insight and socio-occupational outcome in patients with schizophrenia
Authors: Grover Sandeep , Sahoo Swapnajeet , Nehra Ritu , Chakrabarti Subho , Avasthi Ajit
Published: February 2017

Aim:

To evaluate the prevalence of depression using different measures in patients with schizophrenia and to study the relationship of depression in schizophrenia with cognitive insight and clinical insight, disability and socio-occupational functioning.

Methods:

A total of 136 patients with schizophrenia were evaluated for depression, cognitive insight and socio-occupational functioning.

Results:

Of the 136 patients included in the study, one-fourth ( N = 34; 25%) were found to have depression as per the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI). The prevalence of depression as assessed by Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia (CDSS), Hamilton depression rating scale (HDRS) and Depressive Subscale of Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS-D) was 23.5%, 19.9% and 91.9%, respectively. Among the different scales, CDSS has highest concordance with clinician’s diagnosis. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value for CDSS was also higher than that noted for HDRS and PANSS-D. When those with and without depression as per clinician’s diagnosis were compared, those with depression were found to have significantly higher scores on Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) positive and general psychopathology subscales, PANSS total score, participation restriction as assessed by P-scale and had lower level of functioning as assessed by Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF). No significant difference was noted on negative symptom subscale of PANSS, clinical insight as assessed on G-12 item of PANSS, disability as assessed by Indian Disability Evaluation and Assessment Scale (IDEAS) and socio-occupational functioning as assessed by Social and Occupational Functioning Assessment Scale (SOFS). In terms of cognitive insight, those with depression had significantly higher score for both the subscales, that is, self-reflective and self-certainty subscales as well as the mean composite index score.

Conclusion:

Our results suggest that one-fourth of patients with schizophrenia have depression, compared to HDRS and PANSS-D, CDSS has highest concordance with clinician’s diagnosis of depression and presence of depression is related to cognitive insight.
Salman Rushdie’s Authorial Self-fashioning in Joseph Anton
Authors: Wesley Charlie
Published: February 2017

This article examines some of the highlights, limitations, and contradictions of Rushdie’s authorial personas that have been perpetuated and challenged by his critics and the mass media. I argue that Joseph Anton, published in 2012, exhibits evidence of Rushdie’s attempt at authorial self-fashioning, and therefore the memoir represents an important part of his effort to shape the public narrative about him. Joseph Anton highlights Rushdie’s exilic persona through direct comparisons to figures like Voltaire and Galileo, and attempts to privilege this position above his other authorial selves. This authorial self has deep roots in a narrative fashioned by Rushdie that has been abetted by some of his critics and the media since the fatwa. My essay critiques this emphasis, suggesting that Rushdie’s self-fashioning is out of step with his twenty-first-century political ideals and affiliations. Ultimately, the third-person “distancing” of the memoir helps to highlight what it seeks to mitigate: a plurality of Rushdie’s competing for public attention.
“I have been in an earthquake”: Epistemic upheaval in Richard Hughes’ A High Wind in Jamaica
Authors: van Schalkwyk Simon , Titlestad Michael
Published: February 2017

Published in 1929, Richard Hughes’ A High Wind in Jamaica was praised by reviewers and critics across the spectrum of the British and American literary scenes (among them Rebecca West, Ford Madox Ford, Vita Sackville-West, Cyril Connelly, John Masefield, Hugh Walpole, and Arnold Bennett). At the same time, its readers were generally shocked by its portrait of child psychology (“the mind of the child”). While several critics applauded its realism, the record of its reception suggests that it induced — what one critic referred to as — “a sort of mental panic”. This article considers aspects of Hughes’ “new psychology”, which derived largely from the writings of Freud and the Freudians. Reading the novel and Freud in counterpoint, the argument concludes that — while Hughes constructs A High Wind in Jamaica as a rejoinder to the ideological logic of the imperial romance — in inscribing Freudian “primitivism” it reiterates colonial assumptions about “civilization”.
X-ray photo-electron spectroscopic studies of cryogenic and plasma surface-treated z-pins
Authors: Knopp André , Scharr Gerhard
Published: February 2017

The mechanical properties of composite materials are primarily dependent on the load transmission between their components. Especially, the fracture performance of a fibre-reinforced polymer made of a preimpregnated fibres (prepreg) with a three-dimensional z-pin reinforcement can be influenced by the interface characteristics between pins and laminate. X-ray photo-electron spectroscopic (XPS) analysis and scanning electron microscopic (SEM) studies of untreated, cryogenic and plasma surface-treated z-pins were carried out to determine the effect of surface treatments on chemical composition, formation of functional groups and topography of pin surface. Pullout tests were conducted to investigate the impact of a surface treatment on the bridging forces, which have significant influence on delamination toughness of a z-pinned laminate. It was pointed out that a cryogenic treatment cannot lead to an increase of oxygen or nitrogen functional groups at the z-pin surface. Nevertheless, the pullout forces can be increased which are caused by an increased surface roughness. However, with a plasma treatment, an oxygen and nitrogen functionalization can be reached. An increase of the O/C ratio with all plasma treatments can be determined. Summarizing the results, it can be shown that oxygen functional groups can be generated by a plasma treatment. These groups are able to establish covalent bonds between z-pin surface and bulk material, which can lead to a better load transmission between the pins and laminate and thus to higher fracture properties. The increased pullout forces result from a combination of improved adhesion between pins and laminate and increased interlocking effects, due to the higher surface roughness after plasma treatment.
Factors affecting carbon nanotube fillers towards enhancement of thermal conductivity in polymer nanocomposites: A review
Authors: Namasivayam Muthuraman , Shapter Joe
Published: February 2017

Thermally conductive polymer composites have opened up new possibilities in various applications including solar cells, power generators, electronics, biomedical applications, etc. Polymer matrices have some interesting advantages to offer such as being lightweight, cost effective, corrosion resistant, and many more. However, the thermal conductivity of a polymer matrix is relatively low for some commercial applications. Recent research has focused on enhancing the thermal conductivity of polymer composites through addition of nanofillers such as nanotubes, graphite, carbon fibers, etc. Among these possibilities, carbon nanotubes are considered to be promising candidates due to their unusually high thermal conductivity. This article discusses the properties of nanotube fillers that should be taken into account in order to fabricate a thermally conductive polymer nanocomposite and reviews the status of research in terms of thermal conductivity and nanotubes.
DEVS for AUTOSAR-based system deployment modeling and simulation
Authors: Denil Joachim , De Meulenaere Paul , Demeyer Serge , Vangheluwe Hans
Published: February 2017

AUTOSAR (AUTomotive Open System ARchitecture) is an open and standardized automotive software architecture, developed by automobile manufacturers, suppliers, and tool developers. Its design is a direct consequence of the increasingly important role played by software in vehicles. As design choices during the software deployment phase have a large impact on the behavior of the system, designers need to explore various trade-offs. Examples of such design choices are the mapping of software components to processors, the priorities of tasks and messages, and buffer allocation. In this paper, we evaluate the appropriateness of DEVS, the Discrete-Event System specification, for modeling and subsequent performance evaluation of AUTOSAR-based systems. Moreover, a DEVS simulation model is constructed for AUTOSAR-based electronic control units connected by a communication bus. To aid developers in evaluating a deployment solution, the simulation model is extended with co-simulation with a plant and environment model, evaluation at different levels of detail, and fault injection. Finally, we examine how the simulation model supports the relationship between the supplier and the original equipment manufacturer in the automotive industry. We demonstrate and validate our work by means of a power window case study.
Childhood, youth and non-religion: Towards a social research agenda
Authors: Hemming Peter J
Published: February 2017

Popular and academic interest in the phenomenon of ‘non-religion’, including atheism, humanism and agnosticism, is currently on the rise, reflected in the proliferation of social research on this important theme. Yet, despite a parallel growth in scholarship on childhood, youth and religion, little interest has so far been directed towards non-religion in this context. This article brings together these two concerns through a review of research themes concerned with non-religion and their potential relevance for childhood and youth studies. In so doing, it maps out an agenda for future social research in the field of childhood, youth and non-religion.
Five Wise Men: African American Males Using Urban Critical Literacy to Negotiate and Navigate Home and School in an Urban Setting
Authors: Wright Brian L.
Published: February 2017

This study explores a psychosocial concept coined by the author referred to as “Urban Critical Literacy” (UCL). UCL is an emergent four-step strategy employed by five African American young men as they navigated their cultural worlds of home and school in an urban setting. Critical literacy is the theoretical conceptual framework that underlies this research. Data collected through individual and group interviews and direct observations of home and school are further grounded in constructivist theory to help guide the investigation and documentation of how the participants used UCL. The findings revealed that the participants employed UCL as a strategy to help navigate and negotiate peer pressure, styles of communication, dress, and stereotypes as well as school personnel’s unfavorable perceptions of them that can potentially impede their school success. The young men critically identified and reflected on these issues in ways that empowered them to make responsible decisions without jeopardizing their academic goals.
Pagan and Christian Concepts in a Mexican Indian Culture
Authors: Wonderly William L.
Published: February 2017

The capacity of many societies to take some of the formal aspects of Christianity without understanding its meaning has disturbed many a missionary as he has watched what seemed to him to be an unholy mixture of pagan and Christian practices develop, or has found it already fully established. In this article Dr. Wonderly discusses some aspects of this problem in relation to Mexican Indian life, and comes to the conclusion that any profund teaching of Christian ethics can be done satisfactorily only through the life of a community of believers, through the application of principles to specific situations in the cultural milieu. The illustrations are derived from Mexico, and have to do with Catholic contact with Aztec life, but the problem is a universal one in the spread of the gospel
Conversion and Culture Change
Authors: Kietzman Dale W.
Published: February 2017

In his analysis of the process of culture change, Mr. Kietzman reduces the problem basically to a series of interactions of various kinds between individuals. These individuals represent the local culture, and the West (in the case of the missionary) in their ways of behaving. The interaction is not only between the two different cultural groups, but also within them, among individuals with varying predispositions, backgrounds, and points of view. The agents of conversion are the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. These also bring about culture change by working through individuals to whom they have spoken.
Social Anthropology, Christian Missions, and the Indians of Latin America
Authors: Wonderly William L.
Published: February 2017

Mexico has been in the vanguard, among the nations of the American continent, with respect to the application of the principles of social anthropology in the secular fields to the problems of indigenous or Indian groups. The present article attempts to summarize for English readers some of the major bases of this movement as it is being carried forward by Mexican social anthropologists of today. It then points out certain of the principles of the movement which are of special significance for the work of Christian missions among the Indian groups of Latin America, and certain points at which the movement, due to its commitment to a secular approach, needs to be supplemented by the development of a parallel Christian movement by groups who can come to closer grips with the specifically religious anxieties of the Indian peoples.
Wisdom Which the West Should Learn from the East
Authors: Tsung-San Mu , Fu-Kuan Hsü , Chang Carson , Chün-Yi T'ang
Published: February 2017

We are here introducing what we hope will be a regular department in Practical Anthropology. In it we want to publish original articles and reprints in which non-Westerners look at the West, or in which anthropologists (or others) without any Christian convictions look at Christian missions, in ways that may be helpful for us to see ourselves. The following article is part 11 of “A Manifesto to the World on Behalf of Chinese Culture.” We think that every reader will be struck, as we were, by the description of the feeling the Oriental has in the face of the Westerner, and by the thoughtful analyses of the difficulties in the Western outlook on life. At the same time it tells us as much, if not more, about the Chinese scholar's outlook on life, about his all important values, as it does about ourselves.
Village Reborn
Authors: Galdas Adib , Finney Davida
Published: February 2017

This is the absorbing story of an Egyptian village which changed its way of life. In connection with a literacy campaign in the village came new hope, new ideas, and a new unity to carry these hopes and ideas into practice. The story is moving and simple, but its lessons are profound. Here was no mission- or government-engineered program of change forced upon a community, although a mission-sponsored literacy campaign was the spark which set the development off. Here was change coming from within, catalyzed by ideas from without. The most fundamental change was a spirit of love and harmony.
The Function of Religion in Society
Authors: Fox Robert B.
Published: February 2017

The religious beliefs and practices of a society and the units of the social organization (e.g. the family, the kin group) are functionally interrelated. Among folk peoples and societies such as those in the Philippines which we call non-Christians, the contribution of religion to the persistence of the social order is readily apparent. Hence, dramatic changes in the belief system of a people under the impact of missionary effort, or as the result of the activities of administrators concerned with directed cultural and economic change, often have far-reaching consequences. Not infrequently, rapid changes in the beliefs and values which are embodied in the religious and social matrix of the traditional society lead to a breakdown of the social order and of social controls, and vastly complicate for all the process of change.
Arab Customs
Authors: Van Ess Dorothy L.
Published: February 2017

In cultures with highly formalized social behavior there may be an elaborate system of “etiquette.” Mrs. Van Ess here describes some of the elements of Arab etiquette which are difficult or particularly likely to be overlooked by Western missionaries. Perhaps most societies in the world do not make as much of the importance of polite behavior as the Arabs. Most peoples are more forgiving of foreigners and strangers. In most folk and primitive societies etiquette is not as formalized. But among all peoples there are nice ways of social behavior and crude ones, polite acts and impolite ones. Mrs. Van Ess reminds us to find out what they are and behave accordingly.
Africa in Transition — III Technical Civilization
Authors: Busia K. A.
Published: February 2017

Industrialization in Africa must be defined broadly to include all technological developments in general and not simply the growth of large-scale manufacturing. These developments include industrial agriculture, mining, transportation, systems of communication, urbanization, etc. In the West when we deal with industrialization, we are concerned with processes, techniques, and machines resulting from a technical revolution, initiated from within the framework of European society itself. The problem of social adaptation to technology introduced into society from outside is the problem of Africa. In this article Dr. Busia discusses the social changes which such a situation demands.
Acculturation Survey of the Dansalan Junior College
Authors: Hamm David L. , Macaraya Batua A.
Published: February 2017

One of the important problems of missionary communication on any level is the need to know what is being understood by the teaching or preaching, and what influence the message is having upon people's thinking and attitudes. Sometimes there are overt responses which can be interpreted, and which give a clue to what is getting across. The authors of this article devised a questionnaire by which they feel that they measured something of the degree of influence which mission schooling has had on two classes of Filipino students.
Social Relations and Directed Culture Change among the Zinacantan
Authors: Colby Benjamin N.
Published: February 2017

Why did Zinacantan Indians of Chiapas, Mexico, resist efforts to teach girls to speak Spanish and to learn to read? Since, after a very few years of education, an Indian leaves school and books forever, leaving very little place in adult life for a literate person, what kind of books could full this vacuum? These and similar problems were the concern of part of the research reflected in this paper, and they are discussed from the standpoint of the social relations which exist both within Zinacantan society, and without, as it faces the ladino world. Something of the nature of culture change and the communication of social relations between cultures provides the framework for the discussion of these problems in directed culture change.
Understanding the Jugglers
Authors: Hickman John M.
Published: February 2017

There is a discernible “anti-anthropologist” attitude on the part of many missionaries who have had direct contact with anthropologists in the field — even on the part of many who are not “anti-anthropology.” Ideological differences, of course, are often poles apart, but both groups, in their saner moments often recognize that each has much to offer the other. They sometimes find it hard to talk to each other because assumptions and vocabulary are so different. Practical Anthropology has served in a small way as a vehicle for some communication, and for those anthropologists who read it, may serve to build some understanding of the missionary community. Missionaries, if they are to fully profit by the contributions of anthropologists, need also to understand this breed of beings. This article should contribute to that end.
Pre-Marital Relations and Christian Marriage in Africa
Authors: Trobisch Walter
Published: February 2017

At least two previous articles in Practical Anthropology have high-lighted the dilemma of the African church in the face of problems of adultery and premarital intercourse.1 In the present article, the author summarizes the findings of an informal inquiry on premarital sexual practice traditionally practiced by certain groups in the Cameroun. This article attempts to lay the foundations for a study of the problem by reconstructing the traditional attitudes and motives of people in these African groups toward this area of behavior, and the implications for the church and the gospel. In a subsequent issue the present-day attitudes of some modern African youth will be analyzed.
Mission and the Holy Spirit
Authors: Danker William J.
Published: February 2017

This is a hard-hitting review article discussing the implications of Roland Allen's writings on the occasion of the publication of a collection of them.1 Although not written from the point of view of the social sciences, the article drives in a highly effective way at points which have repeatedly come up in Practical Anthropology,2 and puts the whole matter in an important theological perspective.
Good News for the Waunana
Authors: Loewen Jacob A.
Published: February 2017

If the church of Christ is to take root and grow indigenously, it is indispensable that the gospel be presented in a manner relevant to this indigenous environment and world view. Recognizing this, the ambassadors to the Waunana tried to find in the Waunana world view some indigenous points of departure on which to anchor the message. The following is a brief resume of the historical, geographical, and cultural setting which provided the framework within which the gospel message to the Waunana was delivered. As will be seen, contact with the Waunana was brief and inconclusive. Many questions are tantalizingly unanswered. What created the feeling of guilt which gave rise to the beseeching ceremony? What elements in the missionary message struck such a responsive chord? Nevertheless this account is presented with hope that it will stimulate search for the most effective methods of presenting God's good news.
Developing Non-Western Hymnody
Authors: Riccitelli James M.
Published: February 2017

The necessity for a combination of such qualities as a thorough understanding of music, linguistic analysis, and cultural sensitivity for the development of an adequate hymnody is developed and illustrated by Mr. Riccitelli in this article. Music, like language, and like culture in general, is an area where technical knowledge can shortcut years of frustrating and sometimes very damaging experimentation. Musical specialization is needed for the church around the world. The linguistic and cultural elements are of prime importance as well. The bulk of this paper deals with specific problems in the interrelation of language and music which produces an effective hymn.
Toward an Applied Missionary Anthropology
Authors: Luzbetak Louis J.
Published: February 2017

Roman Catholic missionary work has produced more direct professional anthropological investigation than has Protestant missionary work. Several priests have been world famous anthropological theoreticians as well. Anthropos, one of the great ethnological journals of the world, is edited by Roman Catholic scholars. Anthropological Quarterly, the journal of the Catholic Anthropological Association in the United States, was started more than twenty years before Practical Anthropology. The author of the following article is preparing a volume in applied anthropology for missionaries to be entitled Applied Missionary Anthropology. In this article he states the need for a formulation of anthropological insights specifically for Roman Catholic missionaries. His points generally apply fully to Protestants as well.
The Church and its Ministries
Authors: Nida Eugene A.
Published: February 2017

The problem to which Eugene A. Nida replies here is presented anonymously, and without reference to location (except that of Latin America) to avoid creating any greater misunderstanding between the parties concerned. Many missionary readers will recognize a parallel situation in their own area. Those who do not might well take the time to listen carefully, in case they have overlooked the real feelings of the church. What does the local church understand by the large mission-founded institutions?
The Elusive Rentier Rich
Authors: McGoey Linsey
Published: February 2017

The popularity of Thomas Piketty’s research on wealth inequality has drawn attention to a curious question: why was widening wealth inequality largely neglected by mainstream economists in recent decades? To explore and explain that neglect, I draw on the writing of the early neoclassical economist John Bates Clark, who introduced the notion of the marginal productivity of income distribution at the end of the nineteenth century. I then turn to Piketty’s Capital in order to analyze the salience of marginal productivity theories of income today. I suggest that most of the criticism and praise for Piketty’s research is focused on data that are accessible and measurable, obscuring attention to questions over whether current methods for measuring economic capital are defensible or not. My overarching aim is to explore how “absent” data in economics as a whole help to reinforce blind spots within mainstream economic theory.
Citizen Seismology, Stalinist Science, and Vladimir Mannar’s Cold Wars
Authors: Aronova Elena
Published: February 2017

This essay takes a historical view on “citizen science” by exploring its socialist version via the case of a Soviet amateur seismologist Vladimir Mannar. In the wake of the 1948 Ashgabat earthquake, which coincided with Lysenko’s victory in his campaign against genetics, Mannar launched an aborted campaign for a participatory “socialist seismology.” Mannar co-opted Lysenkoist language of science for the people and gained professional status within professional seismology but was shut out by the experts capitalizing on a “big science” imperative of cold war. Mannar’s personal experiences of navigating competing pulls of cold war seismology and his vision of “people’s seismology,” marginalized within increasingly technical and instrumental cold war science, shed light on oxymoronic nature of citizen science, and the clash between participatory vision of science and an increasing reliance on high-level technical expertise. This case provides a vantage point from which to examine the dual nature of citizen science with its dual loyalties, ambiguities, and the constantly renegotiated status of data—the raison d’être and the most tangible outcome of the initiatives unfolded on the outer fringes of academic science.
Arabic senti-lexicon: Constructing publicly available language resources for Arabic sentiment analysis
Authors: Al-Moslmi Tareq , Albared Mohammed , Al-Shabi Adel , Omar Nazlia , Abdullah Salwani
Published: February 2017

Sentiment analysis is held to be one of the highly dynamic recent research fields in Natural Language Processing, facilitated by the quickly growing volume of Web opinion data. Most of the approaches in this field are focused on English due to the lack of sentiment resources in other languages such as the Arabic language and its large variety of dialects. In most sentiment analysis applications, good sentiment resources play a critical role. Based on that, in this article, several publicly available sentiment analysis resources for Arabic are introduced. This article introduces the Arabic senti-lexicon, a list of 3880 positive and negative synsets annotated with their part of speech, polarity scores, dialects synsets and inflected forms. This article also presents a Multi-domain Arabic Sentiment Corpus (MASC) with a size of 8860 positive and negative reviews from different domains. In this article, an in-depth study has been conducted on five types of feature sets for exploiting effective features and investigating their effect on performance of Arabic sentiment analysis. The aim is to assess the quality of the developed language resources and to integrate different feature sets and classification algorithms to synthesise a more accurate sentiment analysis method. The Arabic senti-lexicon is used for generating feature vectors. Five well-known machine learning algorithms: naïve Bayes, k-nearest neighbours, support vector machines (SVMs), logistic linear regression and neural network are employed as base-classifiers for each of the feature sets. A wide range of comparative experiments on standard Arabic data sets were conducted, discussion is presented and conclusions are drawn. The experimental results show that the Arabic senti-lexicon is a very useful resource for Arabic sentiment analysis. Moreover, results show that classifiers which are trained on feature vectors derived from the corpus using the Arabic sentiment lexicon are more accurate than classifiers trained using the raw corpus.
Six-Month Continuous Intraputamenal Infusion Toxicity Study of Recombinant Methionyl Human Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (r-metHuGDNF) in Rhesus Monkeys
Authors: Hovland David N. , Boyd Robert B. , Butt Mark T. , Engelhardt Jeffery A. , Moxness Michael S. , Ma Mark H. , Emery Maurice G. , Ernst Nadia B. , Reed Randall P. , Zeller Jillynne R. , Gash Don M. , Masterman Donna M. , Potter Beth M. , Cosenza Mary E. , Lightfoot Ruth M.
Published: February 2017

Recombinant human glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (r-metHuGDNF) is a potent neuronal growth and survival factor that has been considered for clinical use in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Here we present results of a 6-month toxicology study in rhesus monkeys conducted to support clinical evaluation of chronic intraputamenal infusion of r-metHuGDNF for PD. Monkeys (6–9/sex/group) were treated with 0 (vehicle), 15, 30, or 100 μg/day r-metHuGDNF by continuous unilateral intraputamenal infusion (150 μl/day flow rate) for 6 months; a subset of animals (2–3/sex/group) underwent a subsequent 3-month treatment-free recovery period. Notable observations included reduced food consumption and body weight at 100 μg/day and meningeal thickening underlying the medulla oblongata and/or overlying various spinal cord segments at 30 and 100 μg/day. In addition, multifocal cerebellar Purkinje cell loss (with associated atrophy of the molecular layer and, in some cases, granule cell loss) was observed in 4 monkeys in the 100-μg/day group. This cerebellar finding has not been observed in previous nonclinical studies evaluating r-metHuGDNF. The small number of affected animals precludes definitive conclusions regarding the pathogenesis of the cerebellar lesion, but the data support an association with r-metHuGDNF treatment.
Towards a model for a parliamentary constituency information centre: a case study of the Parliament of Zimbabwe
Authors: Munyoro Isaiah , Onyancha Omwoyo B.
Published: February 2017

Theoretical models of communicating parliamentary information, as well as ensuring the smooth functioning of Parliamentary Constituents Information Centres (PCICs), have highlighted challenges affecting the delivery of information to constituents. The Parliament of Zimbabwe (PoZ) became one of the first parliaments to implement PCICs among Southern Africa Development Community countries. The intention was to improve the dissemination of information to constituents, among other functions. In a study that evaluated the performance of Zimbabwe’s PCICs and their future improvement, a number of operational challenges have surfaced, and this calls for potential solutions to address the challenges, which have in turn brought the need of a suitable model for PCICs to the fore. This article presents a proposed PCIC model for the PoZ based on the findings from a survey conducted in Zimbabwe between 2012 and 2015. The target population included the donor community, constituents, Office Assistants and Members of Parliament. Various methods and instruments were used to collect quantitative and qualitative data. Further, the study examined several theories and models to inform the development of a model for PCICs in Zimbabwe.
Efficient human-robot collaboration: When should a robot take initiative?
Authors: Baraglia Jimmy , Cakmak Maya , Nagai Yukie , Rao Rajesh PN , Asada Minoru
Published: February 2017

The promise of robots assisting humans in everyday tasks has led to a variety of research questions and challenges in human-robot collaboration. Here, we address the question of whether and when a robot should take initiative during joint human-robot task execution. We designed a robotic system capable of autonomously performing table-top manipulation tasks while monitoring the environmental state. Our system is able to predict future environmental states and the robot’s actions to reach them using a dynamic Bayesian network. To evaluate our system, we implemented three different initiative conditions to trigger the robot’s actions. Human-initiated help gives control of the robot action timing to the user; robot-initiated reactive help triggers robot assistance when it detects that the human needs help; robot-initiated proactive help makes the robot help whenever it can. We performed a user study (N=18) to compare the trigger mechanisms in terms of quality of interaction, system performance and perceived sociality of the robot. We found that people collaborate best with a proactive robot, yielding better team fluency and high subjective ratings. However, they prefer having control of when the robot should help, rather than working with a reactive robot that only helps when needed. We also found that participants gazed at the robot’s face more during the human-initiated help compared to the other conditions. This shows that asking for the robot’s help may lead to a more “social” interaction, without improving the quality of interaction or the system performance.
Improved fat-suppression homogeneity with mDIXON turbo spin echo (TSE) in pediatric spine imaging at 3.0 T
Authors: Pokorney Amber L , Chia Jonathan M , Pfeifer Cory M , Miller Jeffrey H , Hu Houchun H
Published: February 2017

Background

Robust fat suppression remains essential in clinical MRI to improve tissue signal contrast, minimize fat-related artifacts, and enhance image quality.

Purpose

To compare fat suppression between mDIXON turbo spin echo (TSE) and conventional frequency-selective and inversion-recovery methods in pediatric spine MRI.

Material and Methods

Images from T1-weighted (T1W) and T2-weighted (T2W) TSE sequences coupled with conventional methods and the mDIXON technique were compared in 36 patients (5.8 ± 5.4 years) at 3.0 T. Images from 42 pairs of T1W (n = 16) and T2W (n = 26) scans were acquired. Two radiologists reviewed the data and rated images using a three-point scale in two categories, including the uniformity of fat suppression and overall diagnostic image quality. The Wilcoxon rank-sum test was used to compare the scores.

Results

The Cohen’s kappa coefficient for inter-rater agreement was 0.69 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.56–0.83). Images from mDIXON TSE were considered superior in fat suppression ( P < 0.01) in 22 (rater 1) and 25 (rater 2) cases, respectively. In 13 (rater 1) and 11 (rater 2) cases, mDIXON TSE demonstrated improved diagnostic image quality ( P < 0.01). In three cases, fat suppression was superior using inversion-recovery and likewise in one case mDIXON had poorer image diagnostic quality. Lastly, mDIXON and conventional fat-suppression methods performed similarly in 17 (rater 1) and 14 (rater 2) cases, and yielded equal diagnostic image quality in 28 (rater 1) and 30 (rater 2) cases.

Conclusion

Robust fat suppression can be achieved with mDixon TSE pediatric spine imaging at 3.0 T and should be considered as a permanent replacement of traditional methods, in particular frequency-selective techniques.
Geography and indigeneity II
Authors: Radcliffe Sarah A.
Published: February 2017

In this, the second of three reports on indigeneity in geography, the focus is on the social differentiation within embodiments, subjectivities and social positionings within and across indigenous groups. Indigeneity is a social-corporeal positioning within socially-differentiated fields of power, history and relations with land and earth. As a consequence, geography focuses on temporally- and spatially-specific processes by which embodiments and epistemic positions are produced, expressed and diversified. Also significant are the ongoing relations of power at multiple scales that entail the production of indigenous bodies as the marked outcomes of colonial-modern distributions of harm. Taken together, these analyses suggest that the embodiment of indigeneity arises from colonial-modern mediations of intersectional social hierarchies, resulting in multifaceted patterns of differentiated agency.
Howland’s isotropic Kts curve for plates with circular holes as a master curve for Kts in orthotropic plates with elliptical holes
Authors: Troyani Nando , Sánchez Milagros
Published: February 2017

The importance of the role played by the so-called stress concentration factors (or symbolically referred to as Kts) in analysis and design in both mechanical and structural engineering is a well-established fact, and accuracy and ease in their estimation result in significant aspects related to engineering costs, and additionally on both the reliability in the design of parts and/or in the analysis of failed members. In this work, rectangular finite width plates of both isotropic and orthotropic materials with circular and elliptical holes are considered. Based on two key observations reported herein, it is shown in a partially heuristic engineering sense, that Howland’s solution curve for the stress concentration factors for finite width plates with circular holes subjected to tension can be viewed as a master curve; accordingly, it can be used as a basis to rather accurately estimate stress concentration factors for isotropic finite width tension rectangular plates with centered elliptical holes and also rather accurately used to estimate stress concentration factors for orthotropic finite width rectangular plates under tension with centered elliptical holes. Two novel concepts are defined and presented to this effect: geometric scaling and material scaling. In all the examined and reported cases, the specific numerical results can be obtained accurately using a hand-held calculator making virtually unnecessary the need to program and/or use other complex programs based on the finite element method, just as an example. The maximum recorded average error for all the considered cases being 2.62% as shown herein.
Challenges of archiving and preserving born-digital news applications
Authors: Boss Katherine , Broussard Meredith
Published: February 2017

Born-digital news content is increasingly becoming the format of the first draft of history. Archiving and preserving this history is of paramount importance to the future of scholarly research, but many technical, legal, financial, and logistical challenges stand in the way of these efforts. This is especially true for news applications, or custom-built websites that comprise some of the most sophisticated journalism stories today, such as the “Dollars for Docs” project by ProPublica. Many news applications are standalone pieces of software that query a database, and this significant subset of apps cannot be archived in the same way as text-based news stories, or fully captured by web archiving tools such as Archive-It. As such, they are currently disappearing. This paper will outline the various challenges facing the archiving and preservation of born-digital news applications, as well as outline suggestions for how to approach this important work.
The predicament of library value
Authors: Namhila Ellen Ndeshi
Published: February 2017

This article contributes to the ongoing debate on library ‘value’ in collection management. It is written from the perspective of library practice in a developing country. It focuses on the micro-level of individual library and archival items and comes to the conclusion that value is a multidimensional concept and that one item can have many different values for different individuals, different groups of people, different uses and purposes which are not static but changing over time. This makes de-selection or ‘weeding’ of library and archives material a complex exercise, affecting the benefits from library use in various ways. There may be educational, entertainment, informational, research, evidential (legal), monetary, intrinsic, sentimental and other values inherent to individual library material. Weeding driven by narrowly interpreted criteria of usefulness, curriculum relevance and concerns about storage cost, may not do justice to the educational, social and cultural common good embodied by libraries.
A brief assessment of researchers’ perceptions towards research data in India
Authors: Tripathi Manorama , Chand Mahesh , Sonkar S. K. , Jeevan V. K. J.
Published: February 2017

The present paper dwells upon the importance of raw data for the development of science and research. The study includes an interview of 40 researchers and faculty members to understand their perception towards the raw data. It has suggested that the libraries can play a pivotal role in extending support to the researchers for organizing, archiving and preserving raw data for future use. Libraries may evolve a system at the university level wherein the researchers and faculty members be encouraged to deposit their raw research data in the institutional repositories, which most of the university libraries have developed.
Numerical modeling and experimental validation of nonisothermal resin infusion and cure processes in large composites
Authors: Ma Liangkai , Athreya Siddharth R , Mehta Rujul , Barpanda Dev , Shafi Asjad
Published: February 2017

This paper presents an experimentally validated model to simulate the nonisothermal resin infusion and cure processes in a relatively large and thick composite laminate fabricated using vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding. Compaction effects were accounted for by using a step-wise scheme wherein the panel was divided into three discrete zones along the flow direction, with each zone being assigned different porosities and other material properties. The experimentally observed dynamic evolution of the resin flow front profile due to permeability difference between the high-permeable infusion medium and the glass-fiber preform as well as the heat transfer in the preheated system was captured accurately. Both model predictions and experimental measurements indicate subtle variation in the spatiotemporal distributions of temperature and degrees of resin cure from the infusion stage can result in large differences in the resin cure profile across the laminate, which may cause undesirable residual stresses in large composites.
Synergy effects of graphene and multiwalled carbon nanotubes hybrid system on properties of epoxy nanocomposites
Authors: Ghaleb ZA , Mariatti M , Ariff ZM
Published: February 2017

Tensile and electrical properties of graphene nanopowder (GNP) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) filled epoxy thin film nanocomposites were investigated. In addition, synergy effects of various mixture ratios of GNP–MWCNT hybrids on the properties of the epoxy thin film nanocomposites were evaluated. It was found that the addition of GNPs or MWCNTs decreased the tensile properties compared to that of unfilled epoxy. The electrical percolation threshold of MWCNT/epoxy was found to be 0.8 vol%. Addition of only 0.1 vol% GNPs results in significant improvement in the electrical properties of the composites. Enhanced tensile and electrical properties in the GNP–MWCNT/epoxy hybrid were achieved with GNP–MWCNT ratio of 0.1:0.4. Morphological analysis confirmed the uniform dispersion of both GNPs and MWCNTs within the epoxy matrix. For the hybrid GNP–MWCNT filler system (i.e., with the 0.1:0.4 ratio), MWCNTs were seen to align themselves on the GNPs surfaces creating an interconnected strong nanofiller network in the epoxy.
Planning Ahead: Using the Theory of Planned Behavior to Predict Older Adults’ Intentions to Use Hospice if Faced With Terminal Illness
Authors: Nahapetyan Lusine , Orpinas Pamela , Glass Anne , Song Xiao
Published: February 2017

Hospice is underutilized in the United States, and many patients enroll for short periods of times. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to identify significant predictors of intentions to use hospice in community-dwelling older adults. The Theory of Planned Behavior informed the selection of predictors. Data were collected from 146 White older adults ( M age = 69.5; 69% females). Multiple linear regression analyses showed that higher hospice knowledge, normative beliefs that support hospice utilization, higher perceived control to use hospice, and preferences for end-of-life care that favor comfort and quality of life over living as long as possible were significant predictors of intentions to use hospice. In spite of being a sample of mostly highly educated older adults, almost half did not know about funding for hospice. These results provide better understanding of where to focus interventions to educate older adults about hospice, ideally in advance of a crisis.
UN fatalities 1948–2015: A new dataset
Authors: Henke Marina E.
Published: February 2017

This article presents a new dataset on UN peacekeeping fatalities that occurred during 1948–2015. The data includes five types of fatality counts: total fatalities, fatalities caused by accidents, illness, malicious acts (i.e. hostile deaths) and a fourth category marked “other incident types.” For every UN operation during 1948–2015, data on the number of these four types of UN fatalities are coded at the yearly as well as monthly level. The monthly data also indicate the nationality as well as the appointment type (troop, police, observer, local or international staff) of the deceased. This dataset is the first of its kind. It offers new opportunities for research on important aspects of UN peacekeeping. Herein, I introduce the data, provide details on the coding process and present trends and an empirical application.
Spanish University Reforms and Job Satisfaction: Is There Only One Way Out?
Authors: Olaskoaga-Larrauri Jon , González-Laskibar Xabier , Díaz-De-Basurto-Uraga Pablo
Published: February 2017

The reform of higher education institutions is no longer confined to the theoretical domain. This article describes some of the organizational developments that have occurred in Spanish public universities over the past decade. It does so from the perspective of the academics who staff universities, considering their perceptions on the nature and consequences of said reforms, and gathering their views on the influence these have had on their job satisfaction. The responses are analyzed using descriptive statistical methods, including principal components analysis. The article concludes that the model of reform in Spanish higher education is different from the one in English-speaking countries in that the erosion of collegiality is due more to the standardization of the academic role than to the reinforcement of managerial authority. The impact on academics’ job satisfaction is negative.