bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Sacramental Life
Authors: Fagerberg David W.
Published: September 2015

Divided into two parts, this essay first considers the seven sacraments as encounters with grace mediated by visible signs. But rather than focusing on a general account of sacrament and moving to specific examples, the essay begins with different forms of sacramental act. All sacramentality originates in Christ’s union of the human and the divine, and in the intimate link between Christ’s person and the life of the Church. The sacraments are divided into three groups: sacraments of initiation (baptism, confirmation, Eucharist); sacraments of healing (anointing the sick and reconciliation); and sacraments in the service of communion (holy orders and marriage). The second half of the chapter concerns ‘sacramentology’, ways in which sacraments have been described in general terms.
Givenness
Authors: Rochemont Michael
Published: September 2015

Distinguishing between two forms of givenness status, known and salient, this chapter investigates the latter, using deaccenting as a probe into the nature of salience-based givenness. A presuppositional account of salience-based givenness is presented, based on entailment and coreference. Other putative semantic relations claimed to underlie givenness-based deaccenting are shown to be inadequate. The question whether givenness can be reduced to focus is considered, with motivation provided for distinguishing among given, focused, and discourse new. It is seen that the distribution of accenting and deaccenting in English is only partly a function of context, with speaker’s communicative intent playing a critical and unpredictable role.
Fascism and the Right in Interwar Europe
Authors: Kallis Aristotle
Published: September 2015

Is it possible to speak of the interwar right in Europe in terms of a dichotomy between ‘fascism’ and ‘authoritarianism’, or of ‘new’ versus ‘old’ right? The rise of fascism in Italy and, later, Germany inspired fellow radicals in many European countries. In addition, however, the perceived ‘success’ of fascism exercised a critical influence on the ‘old’ conservative and authoritarian right, as both challenge and opportunity. Forces of the ‘old’ right responded to the perceived ‘success’ of fascism with a growing willingness to learn, reflexively appropriate, and selectively adapt fascist radical innovations to fit the particular characteristics of each national context. In this crucial respect, the story of the interwar European right is marked by ideological and political convergence, as well as unpredictable institutional hybridization, between the ‘old’ and ‘new’ right that produced a cumulative drive towards radicalization and dictatorship.
Conversation Analysis
Authors: Schegloff Emanuel A.
Published: September 2015

The text that follows offers in its first section four early engagements with brief bits of ordinary conversation that launched the form of analysis known as conversation-analytic work. This is followed by five subsections that sketch five of the several domains of analysis central to conversation analysis over the last fifty or so years: turns and turn constructions; sequences of actions-through-talk; trouble in talking actions and repair of that trouble; selection of words that compose the turns that compose the sequences; the overall structural organization of talk-in-interaction whether in recurrent clusters or sustained occasions of conversation. A brief upshot brings the text to conclusion.
Animal Rights
Authors: Francione Gary L. , Charlton Anna E.
Published: September 2015

The term “animal rights” is used broadly and often inconsistently in discussions of animal ethics. This chapter focuses on seven topics: (1) the pre-nineteenth-century view of animals as things and the emergence of the animal welfare position; (2) the work of Lewis Gompertz and of Henry Salt; (3) the Vegan Society, the Oxford Group, and Peter Singer’s animal liberation theory; (4) Tom Regan’s animal rights theory; (5) the abolitionist animal rights theory; (6) animal rights and the law; and (7) animal rights as a social movement. Herein, “rights” describes the protection of interests irrespective of consequences. The chapter’s position that veganism (not consuming any animal products), is a moral baseline follows from the widely-shared recognition that animals have moral value and are not merely things; veganism is the only rational response to that recognition.
Staging Privilege, Proximity, and “Extreme Animal Tourism”
Authors: Desmond Jane
Published: September 2015

Based on case studies of tourism in the Galapagos Islands and Antarctica, this chapter articulates a concept of “extreme animal tourism” as a category of analysis. Suggesting that tourism deserves increased attention in animal studies, the chapter tracks the conditions of possibility for this growing sector of hyperprivileged tourism, as opposed to mass tourism. It is a form of tourism that promises those who can afford to pay for it exceptional proximity and the “glorious indifference” of the animals to human presence. The chapter argues that these animal encounters promote the idea of an “Edenic encounter” of mutual regard between humans and charismatic nonhuman animals. Animals, as avatars of the “wild,” are still largely seen as outside history, and as such are available to the tourist industry to do the continuing work of representing premodernity when encountered in remote locations. Analyzing this ideological work is an essential part of deepening our understanding of human relations with non-human animals
Eating and Drinking in Opera
Authors: Polzonetti Pierpaolo
Published: September 2015

This article explores how food and drink in opera convey meaning, define relationships, trigger psychophysical reactions, and denote dramatis and singers’ personae. It proposes a basic theoretical foundation of “operatic gastromusicology” by outlining five primary functions of food in opera: social, intimate, denotative, medicinal, and dietary. These five functions are exemplified through the analysis of gastronomic signs in Verdi’s Traviata. The opera and its performance history illustrate how the production of this opera reflects the changing culture of food and the body. Luchino Visconti’s production in Milan’s La Scala in 1955, with Maria Callas as the consumptive protagonist, was in this respect a watershed in the history of opera. The singer’s rapid and prodigious weight loss prior to this performance triggered an epochal shift in opera culture toward an unprecedented conflation of the dramatis and singer’s persona.
Handling Irregularities
Authors: Yamamoto Ryoko
Published: September 2015

This article investigates different forms of irregularity in immigration to Japan. Despite the demand for migrant labor from the business sector since the 1980s, Japan has never officially opened its door to unskilled labor migration. Instead, the country created unofficial pathways for Japanese employers to employ foreign workers. The irregular use of residential categories became most problematic with regard to the entertainer visa and the Technical Intern Training Program, both of which came to be criticized as forms of government-assisted human trafficking. The flow of unauthorized migrants to Japan has been on decline in the past twenty years, and the numbers of deportations and detentions are also decreasing. The active use of Special Permission to Stay, a discretionary process of indivisualized legalization, appears to be partly accountable for Japan’s shrinking unauthorized population. The lack of transparency in the deportation process and the principle of mandatory detention have been major points of controversy.
Life without Parole
Authors: Appleton Catherine
Published: September 2015

This article explores the penological landscape of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole (or life without parole, LWOP) in the twenty-first century. It begins with an overview of the meaning and extent of LWOP sentences across contemporary penal systems worldwide, focusing on the significant increase of LWOP sentences in the United States. It then considers some of the key arguments that have been put forward to justify lifelong imprisonment and goes on to review international law and treaty provisions that have placed important restrictions on the use of LWOP around the world. It also examines the extent to which LWOP sentences are compatible with international human rights standards on the treatment of prisoners. The article argues that the imposition and implementation of whole-life sentences violate fundamental human rights. It concludes by outlining potentially important areas for future research.
Video Games and Religion
Authors: Wagner Rachel
Published: September 2015

This article identifies key features of the comparison between video games and religion, focusing on contemporary video games based on specific ancient apocalypses including “The Book of the Watchers” in the Enoch corpus and the Book of Revelation in the Bible. Many contemporary video games function as rituals of order-making, creating spaces of play in which violence is a performative mode of metaphysical sorting, allowing for new negotiations between “good” and “evil.” Through a consideration of popular gaming elements (fragging, fiero, firepower, and fun), this article proposes that the strong relationship between video games and apocalyptic literature invites a closer examination of how eschatological tensions infuse contemporary times, too often inviting an overly simplistic apocalyptic response to contemporary global challenges.
Providence, Predestination, and Grace in Early Modern Catholic Theology
Authors: Marschler Thomas
Published: September 2015

There is hardly any topic in early modern Catholic theology that has been more controversial than the discussions on providence, predestination, and grace. Using the example of Francisco Suárez’s De gratia, the article outlines the main contents of this dogmatic treatise and presents its fundamental concepts and definitions. In a second part, the paper deals with the famous “grace controversy” that resulted from the necessity of reconciling human freedom with the sovereign grace of God in the Augustinian theological framework that had been confirmed by the Council of Trent. It examines the two main solutions developed by the Jesuit Molinists and the Dominican Báñezians, putting them into their theological contexts and pointing to specific problems connected with them. The article concludes with some hints on the innovative potential in early modern reflections on grace that is becoming increasingly recognized, especially by philosophical interpreters.
“So What Do You Want Us to Do?”
Authors: Aulisio Mark
Published: September 2015

This article explores the ethics of surrogate decision-making and the issue of patient rights regarding end of life. More precisely, it considers the problems underlying surrogate decision-making, why it is so fraught with problems, and what can be done to address them. It first provides a historical background on surrogate decision-making and the rise of the patients’ rights movement by analyzing the landmark cases of Karen Quinlan and Nancy Cruzan. It then discusses the implications for surrogate decision-making of the success of the patient’s rights movement, spurred by Quinlan and Cruzan and championed in the rise of bioethics. The article concludes by offering some suggestions for rethinking the role of surrogates when it comes to making decisions for patients at the end of life.
Feasibility and Potential Benefits of a Web-Based Intervention Delivered Acutely After Mild Traumatic Brain Injury in Adolescents: A Pilot Study
Authors: Kurowski Brad G. , Wade Shari L. , Dexheimer Judith W. , Dyas Jenna , Zhang Nanhua , Babcock Lynn
Published: September 2015

Background:

There is a paucity of evidence-based interventions for mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI).

Objective:

To evaluate the feasibility and potential benefits of an interactive, Web-based intervention for mTBI.

Setting:

Emergency department and outpatient settings.

Participants:

Of the 21 adolescents aged 11 to 18 years with mTBI recruited from November 2013 to June 2014 within 96 hours of injury, 13 completed the program.

Design:

Prospective, open pilot.

Intervention:

The Web-based Self-Management Activity-restriction and Relaxation Training (SMART) program incorporates anticipatory guidance and psychoeducation, self-management and pacing of cognitive and physical activities, and cognitive-behavioral principles for early management of mTBI in adolescents.

Main Measures:

Primary: Daily Post-Concussion Symptom Scale (PCSS). Secondary: Daily self-reported ratings of activities and satisfaction survey.

Results:

Average time from injury to baseline testing was 14.0 (standard deviation = 16.7) hours. Baseline PCSS was 23.6 (range: 0-46), and daily activity was 1.8 (range: 0-5.75) hours. Repeated-measures, generalized linear mixed-effects model analysis demonstrated a significant decrease of PCSS at a rate of 2.0 points per day that stabilized after about 2 weeks. Daily activities, screen time, and physical activity increased by 0.06 (standard error [SE] = 0.04, P = .09), 0.04 (SE = 0.02, P = .15), and 0.03 (SE = 0.02, P = .05) hours per day, respectively, over the 4-week follow-up. Satisfaction was rated highly by parents and youth.

Conclusions:

Self-Management Activity-restriction and Relaxation Training is feasible and reported to be helpful and enjoyable by participants. Future research will need to determine the comparative benefits of SMART and ideal target population.
Vocational Rehabilitation Services and Outcomes for Transition-Age Youth With Traumatic Brain Injuries
Authors: Rumrill Phillip , Wehman Paul , Cimera Robert , Kaya Cahit , Dillard Chad , Chan Fong
Published: September 2015

Objective:

This study examined data provided by the US Department of Education's Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) in an effort to evaluate the relationship between (a) demographic variables and vocational rehabilitation (VR) services and (b) the employment outcomes of transition-age youth with traumatic brain injuries.

Setting:

Not applicable. Participants: Data for 1546 transition-age youth (ie, 16-25 years of age) with traumatic brain injuries were examined.

Design:

Purposeful selection of multivariate logistic regression was employed to analyze the data.

Main Measures:

Not applicable.

Results:

Receipt of more VR services at higher expenditure levels over shorter periods of time was related to case closure in successful competitive employment status. Also, higher levels of education at the time of enrollment in the VR program (ie, bachelor's degrees or higher); nonreceipt of social security disability benefits at the time of enrollment in the VR program; and receipt of VR services such as occupational/vocational training, job search, job placement, on-the-job support, maintenance, and information/referral were associated with competitive employment outcomes.

Conclusion:

Client demographic and VR service–related variables significantly predict competitive employment outcomes for transition-age youth with traumatic brain injuries. Vocational rehabilitation services should focus on the specific interventions that are most closely associated with successful rehabilitation.
Emergency Department Evaluation of Traumatic Brain Injury in the United States, 2009–2010
Authors: Korley Frederick K. , Kelen Gabor D. , Jones Courtney M. , Diaz-Arrastia Ramon
Published: September 2015

Objective:

To determine the dimensions of traumatic brain injury (TBI) evaluation in US emergency department (EDs) to inform potential application of novel diagnostic tests.

Setting:

US EDs.

Participants:

National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey of ED visits in 2009 and 2010 where TBI was evaluated (1) and diagnosed either clinically or (2) with head computed tomographic (CT) scans.

Design:

Retrospective cross-sectional.

Results:

TBI was evaluated during 4.8 (95% confidence interval [CI], 4.2-5.4) million visits per year; and head CT scan was performed in 82% of TBI evaluations (3.9 [95% CI, 3.4-4.4] million visits per year). TBI was diagnosed in 52% of evaluations (2.5 [95% CI, 2.1-2.8] million visits per year). Among those who received head CT scans, 9% had CT evidence of traumatic abnormalities. Among patients evaluated for TBI who had a Glasgow Coma Scale score recorded, 94.5% were classified as having mild TBI, 2.1% as moderate TBI, and 3.5% as severe TBI. Among patients with International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification, codes permitting the calculation of head Abbreviated Injury Scale scores 9.0%, 85.0%, 2.5%, 3.2%, 0.3%, and 0% had head Abbreviated Injury Scale scores of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, respectively. Of patients evaluated for TBI, 31% had other head/face/neck injuries, 10% had spine and back injuries, 7% had torso injuries, and 14% had extremity injuries.

Conclusion:

The ED is the main gateway to medical care for millions of patients evaluated for TBI each year. Novel diagnostic tests are needed to improve ED diagnosis and management of TBI.
Low base-substitution mutation rate in the germline genome of the ciliateTetrahymena thermophila
Authors: Long Hongan , Winter David J. , Chang Allan Y.-C , Sung Way , Wu Steven H. , Balboa Mariel , Azevedo Ricardo B. R. , Cartwright Reed A. , Lynch Michael , Zufall Rebecca A.
Published: September 2015

Mutation is the ultimate source of all genetic variation and is, therefore, central to evolutionary change. Previous work on Paramecium tetraurelia found an unusually low germline base-substitution mutation rate in this ciliate. Here, we tested the generality of this result among ciliates using Tetrahymena thermophila. We sequenced the genomes of 10 lines of T. thermophila that had each undergone approximately 1,000 generations of mutation accumulation (MA). We applied an existing mutation-calling pipeline and developed a new probabilistic mutation detection approach that directly models the design of an MA experiment and accommodates the noise introduced by mismapped reads. Our probabilistic mutation-calling method provides a straightforward way of estimating the number of sites at which a mutation could have been called if one was present, providing the denominator for our mutation rate calculations. From these methods, we find thatT. thermophilahas a germline base-substitution mutation rate of 7.61 × 10−12per site, per cell division, which is consistent with the low base-substitution mutation rate in P. tetraurelia. Over the course of the evolution experiment, genomic exclusion lines derived from the MA lines experienced a fitness decline that cannot be accounted for by germline base-substitution mutations alone, suggesting that other genetic or epigenetic factors must be involved. Because selection can only operate to reduce mutation rates based upon the “visible” mutational load, asexual reproduction with a transcriptionally silent germline may allow ciliates to evolve extremely low germline mutation rates.
The genetics of Bene Israel from India reveals both substantial Jewish and Indian ancestry
Authors: Waldman Yedael Y. , Biddanda Arjun , Davidson Natalie R. , Billing-Ross Paul , Dubrovsky Maya , Campbell Christopher L. , Oddoux Carole , Friedman Eitan , Atzmon Gil , Halperin Eran , Ostrer Harry , Keinan Alon
Published: September 2015

The Bene Israel Jewish community from West India is a unique population whose history before the 18thcentury remains largely unknown. Bene Israel members consider themselves as descendants of Jews, yet the identity of Jewish ancestors and their arrival time to India are unknown, with speculations on arrival time varying between the 8th century BCE and the 6th century CE. Here, we characterize the genetic history of Bene Israel by collecting and genotyping 18 Bene Israel individuals. Combining with 486 individuals from 41 other Jewish, Indian and Pakistani populations, and additional individuals from worldwide populations, we conducted comprehensive genome-wide analyses based on FST, principal component analysis, ADMIXTURE, identity-by-descent sharing, admixture linkage disequilibrium decay, haplotype sharing and allele sharing autocorrelation decay, as well as contrasted patterns between the X chromosome and the autosomes. The genetics of Bene Israel individuals resemble local Indian populations, while at the same time constituting a clearly separated and unique population in India. They are unique among Indian and Pakistani populations we analyzed in sharing considerable genetic ancestry with other Jewish populations. Putting together the results from all analyses point to Bene Israel being an admixed population with both Jewish and Indian ancestry, with the genetic contribution of each of these ancestral populations being substantial. The admixture took place in the last millennium, about 19-33 generations ago. It involved Middle-Eastern Jews and was sex-biased, with more male Jewish and local female contribution. It was followed by a population bottleneck and high endogamy, which can lead to increased prevalence of recessive diseases in this population. This study provides an example of how genetic analysis advances our knowledge of human history in cases where other disciplines lack the relevant data to do so.
EvolQG - An R package for evolutionary quantitative genetics
Authors: Melo Diogo , Garcia Guilherme , Hubbe Alex , Assis Ana Paula , Marroig Gabriel
Published: September 2015

We present an open source package for performing evolutionary quantitative genetics analyses in the R environment for statistical computing. Evolutionary theory shows that evolution depends critically on the available variation in a given population. When dealing with many quantitative traits this variation is expressed in the form of a covariance matrix, particularly the additive genetic covariance matrix or sometimes the phenotypic matrix, when the genetic matrix is unavailable. Given this mathematical representation of available variation, the EvolQG package provides functions for calculation of relevant evolutionary statistics, estimation of sampling error, corrections for this error, matrix comparison via correlations and distances, and functions for testing evolutionary hypotheses on taxa diversification.
Prepatterning of differentiation-driven nuclear lamin A/C-associated chromatin domains by GlcNAcylated histone H2B
Authors: Rønningen Torunn , Shah Akshay , Oldenburg Anja R. , Vekterud Kristin , Delbarre Erwan , Moskaug Jan Øivind , Collas Philippe
Published: September 2015

Dynamic interactions of nuclear lamins with chromatin through lamin-associated domains (LADs) contribute to spatial arrangement of the genome. Here, we provide evidence for prepatterning of differentiation-driven formation of lamin A/C LADs by domains of histone H2B modified on serine 112 by the nutrient sensor O-linked N-acetylglucosamine (H2BS112GlcNAc), which we term GADs. We demonstrate a two-step process of lamin A/C LAD formation during in vitro adipogenesis, involving spreading of lamin A/C–chromatin interactions in the transition from progenitor cell proliferation to cell-cycle arrest, and genome-scale redistribution of these interactions through a process of LAD exchange within hours of adipogenic induction. Lamin A/C LADs are found both in active and repressive chromatin contexts that can be influenced by cell differentiation status. De novo formation of adipogenic lamin A/C LADs occurs nonrandomly on GADs, which consist of megabase-size intergenic and repressive chromatin domains. Accordingly, whereas predifferentiation lamin A/C LADs are gene-rich, post-differentiation LADs harbor repressive features reminiscent of lamin B1 LADs. Release of lamin A/C from genes directly involved in glycolysis concurs with their transcriptional up-regulation after adipogenic induction, and with downstream elevations in H2BS112GlcNAc levels and O-GlcNAc cycling. Our results unveil an epigenetic prepatterning of adipogenic LADs by GADs, suggesting a coupling of developmentally regulated lamin A/C-genome interactions to a metabolically sensitive chromatin modification.
Replication timing is regulated by the number of MCMs loaded at origins
Authors: Das Shankar P. , Borrman Tyler , Liu Victor W.T. , Yang Scott C.-H. , Bechhoefer John , Rhind Nicholas
Published: September 2015

Replication timing is a crucial aspect of genome regulation that is strongly correlated with chromatin structure, gene expression, DNA repair, and genome evolution. Replication timing is determined by the timing of replication origin firing, which involves activation of MCM helicase complexes loaded at replication origins. Nonetheless, how the timing of such origin firing is regulated remains mysterious. Here, we show that the number of MCMs loaded at origins regulates replication timing. We show for the first time in vivo that multiple MCMs are loaded at origins. Because early origins have more MCMs loaded, they are, on average, more likely to fire early in S phase. Our results provide a mechanistic explanation for the observed heterogeneity in origin firing and help to explain how defined replication timing profiles emerge from stochastic origin firing. These results establish a framework in which further mechanistic studies on replication timing, such as the strong effect of heterochromatin, can be pursued.
Strengthening access to finance for women-owned SMEs in developing countries
Authors: Ahmad Syed Zamberi , Muhammad Arif Afida Mastura
Published: September 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to highlight key trends, challenges, and opportunities for advancing women’s entrepreneurship and increasing their access to finance.

Design/methodology/approach

– Due to their high-growth potential, women-owned SMEs in developing countries are of particular interest. The International Financial Corporation and McKinsey built a detailed database for micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises. The data derived from the readily available global data sets provide coverage of a large number of countries and national statistics.

Findings

– Since financing is an important means by which to pursue growth opportunities, addressing the specific needs of women entrepreneurs (WE) in accessing finance must be part of the development agenda.

Practical implications

– This paper offers valuable practical insights to policy makers to establish a supportive, enabling environment that will facilitate access to financial services for WE in their respective countries; lead efforts to identify, evaluate, and support the replication of successful models for expanding financial services to WE; and lead efforts to gather gender-disaggregated data on small-, and medium-sized enterprise finance in a coordinated fashion.

Originality/value

– The value of this paper is that it offers insightful information about key trends, challenges, and opportunities for advancing women’s entrepreneurship and increasing their access to finance.
Social exclusion: re-examining its conceptual relevance to tackling inequality and social injustice
Authors: Sealey Clive
Published: September 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to rationalise the continued conceptual utility of social exclusion, and in so doing addresses the prevailing question of what to do with it. This is relevant from social exclusion’s declining relevance in contemporary UK social policy and academia, where its consideration as a concept to explain disadvantage is being usurped by other concepts, both old and new.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper analyses criticisms of limitations of social exclusion which have typically centred on the operationalisation of the concept, but the author will argue that there are distinctive operationalisation and conceptual strengths within social exclusion which make it value-added as a concept to explain disadvantage. Specifically, there will be an analysis of both New Labour’s and the present Coalition government’s conceptualisation of the term in policy in relation to work.

Findings

– The analysis highlights the significant difference that a focus on processes rather than outcomes of social exclusion can make to our understanding of inequality and social injustice, and locates this difference within an argument that social exclusion’s true applied capabilities for social justice requires a shift to a conceptualisation built on the processes that cause it in the first place.

Originality/value

– The paper acts as a rejoinder to prevailing theoretical and political thinking of the limited and diminishing value of social exclusion for tackling disadvantage. In particular, the paper shows how social exclusion can be conceptualised to provide a critical approach to tackling inequality and social injustice, and in doing so foregrounds the truly applied capabilities of social exclusion for transforming social justice.
Women’s working hours
Authors: Andringa Wouter , Nieuwenhuis Rense , Van Gerven Minna
Published: September 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to show how the interplay between individual women’s gender role attitudes, having young children at home, as well as the country-context characterized by gender egalitarianism and public childcare support, relates to women’s working hours in 23 European countries.

Design/methodology/approach

– This study presents results of multilevel regression analyses of data from the European Social Survey (Round 2). These micro-level data on 23 European countries were combined with country-level measures on gender traditionalism and childcare expenditure.

Findings

– The authors found that the negative association between having young children at home and women’s working hours is stronger for women with traditional gender role attitudes compared to women with egalitarian attitudes. The gap in working hours between women with and without young children at home was smaller in countries in which the population holds egalitarian gender role attitudes and in countries with extensive public childcare support. Furthermore, it was found that the gap in employment hours between mothers with traditional or egalitarian attitudes was largest in countries with limited public childcare support.

Social implications

– Policy makers should take note that women’s employment decisions are not dependent on human capital and household-composition factors alone, but that gender role attitudes matter as well. The authors could not find evidence of the inequality in employment between women with different gender role attitudes being exacerbated in association with childcare support.

Originality/value

– The originality of this study lies in the combined (rather than separate) analysis of how countries’ social policies (childcare services) and countries’ attitudes (gender traditionalism) interact with individual gender role attitudes to shape cross-national variation in women’s working hours.
Media channels and consumer purchasing decisions
Authors: Woo JongRoul , Ahn Joongha , Lee Jongsu , Koo Yoonmo
Published: September 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore the factors determining which communication mediums influence a given consumer deciding to purchase a specific product.

Design/methodology/approach

– Using a consumer survey and a multivariate probit (MVP) model, the authors explore consumer information searches related to purchases in nine categories: milk, instant noodles, shampoo, mobile phones, televisions, cars, mobile communication services, credit card services, and life insurance.

Findings

– The media channels that motivate a given consumer to make a given purchase vary depending on both socio-demographic variables and product categories.

Practical implications

– As consumers can now obtain product information through different and multiple media channels according to their personal characteristics and the category of the product they seek to purchase, these findings will help companies develop media planning strategies that will effectively target specific market segments.

Originality/value

– Unlike previous studies, the authors consider which media channels actually affect a consumer’s product purchase decisions, and the authors do so across product categories and media types to provide practical implications for media planning. Furthermore, this is the first application of the MVP model in this context.
Foreign direct investment and natural resources in Africa
Authors: Bokpin Godfred Alufar , Mensah Lord , Asamoah Michael E.
Published: September 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of natural resources on foreign direct investment (FDI) in Africa. Decomposing the measures of natural resource, in terms of contribution to GDP (oil rent (OR), mineral rent (MR) and forest rents (FRs)) and export drive (fuel exports (FE) and minerals export), with the objective of obtaining quantitative estimates of their relationship with FDI, we considered the effect of regional or trade blocks on the continent and control for trade openness, financial market development and infrastructure.

Design/methodology/approach

– Using annual panel data of 49 African countries over the period 1980-2011 and employing the system GMM estimation technique.

Findings

– The authors show that after allowing for effect of trade or regional block formation, natural resources in its composite form (ORs, MRs, forest rents (FRs), FEs and minerals export) influences FDI in Africa. Quantitatively, we demonstrate that though natural resources (compositely) influences FDI, the different measures of natural resource differ significantly in terms of their marginal contribution in attracting FDI to the continent especially to different trade blocks. The authors provide that in the presence of certain type of natural resources, trade openness or banking sector credit expansion or infrastructural development is less desirable whilst regional or trade blocks strongly moderate the effect of financial market development and infrastructural development on FDI flow on the continent.

Originality/value

– The authors employed a broad data set to provide evidence of the association between natural resources in its composite form and well as its various component and FDI to African after accounting for regional/trade blocks.
Unit roots and trend breaks in the Greek labor market
Authors: Venetis Ioannis A , Salamaliki Paraskevi K
Published: September 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine the time series behavior of Greek labor market series by providing an empirical perspective on trend breaks and unit roots. Trend breaks represent aggregate behavior responses to “infrequent” changes in economic fundamentals, including changes in fiscal or labor market conditions, as have been perceived in Greece during the last years. Unit roots reveal whether “regular” shocks have significant effects on the level of the series over a specified finite horizon.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors employ recent procedures that deal with the “circular testing problem” between tests on the parameters of the trend function and unit root tests that often arises in empirical applications. These techniques assess trend function stability and are robust regardless of whether the noise component is stationary or having a unit root. Then, conditional on the presence of breaks, the authors test whether the series can be characterized by a stochastic trend.

Findings

– The analysis provides evidence of “infrequent” trend breaks that appear to coincide with the recent global economic crisis and the implementation of the counteraction (fiscal) measures to the Greek debt crisis. Allowing for trend breaks does not lead to a rejection of the unit root hypothesis, which might reflect the low flexibility of the country’s labor market operation.

Practical implications

– The procedures employed can be viewed as new tools that might help empirical researchers to explore more accurately the characteristics of individual time series and to find reasonable approximations to the true processes of the time series examined.

Originality/value

– The paper provides new information on the presence of structural changes in the Greek labor market, and on whether the “aggressive” and “occasional” nature of fiscal measures can be approximated by infrequent changes in the slope of the trend function.
Using participatory design and visual narrative inquiry to investigate researchers’ data challenges and recommendations for library research data services
Authors: Mattern Eleanor , Jeng Wei , He Daqing , Lyon Liz , Brenner Aaron
Published: September 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to report on an information gathering study on users’ research data-related challenges and proposals for library research data services (RDS). This study probes how early career researchers visually conceptualize the research process in their disciplines, their self-reported research data challenges, and their recommendations for library RDS.

Design/methodology/approach

– Two focus group sessions were undertaken with a total of eight early career researchers. Adopting the visual narrative inquiry method, the participants were asked to sketch the general research process in their domain. The individuals’ illustrations of the research process were then used as the basis for reflecting on their data-related needs and potential RDS that would assist them during the research process.

Findings

– Participants presented a research process that was more personal and, in most cases, more imperfect than the research lifecycle models that academic libraries are increasingly using for RDS development and communication. The authors present their data-related challenges, which included data access barriers, low knowledge of best practices for research data management, the need for a deeper understanding of post-publication impact, and inconsistent awareness of existing library and institution RDS. The authors outline RDS recommendations that participants proposed, which included a web-based tools, customized training sessions, and “distilled” guides to research data best practices.

Practical implications

– The study flagged users’ gaps in understandings of existing library and institutional RDS, suggesting that there may be an opportunity to engage users in the design of communications plans for services. The findings from this user study will inform the development of RDS at the institution.

Originality/value

– This paper puts forth a methodological approach that academic libraries can adapt for understanding users’ needs and user-generated design solutions.
Research data management at the University of Bristol
Authors: Hiom Debra , Fripp Dom , Gray Stephen , Snow Kellie , Steer Damian
Published: September 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to chart the development of research data management services within the University of Bristol, from the initial Jisc-funded project, through to pilot service and planned core funding of the service.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper provides a case study of the approach of the University of Bristol Library service to develop a sustainable Research Data Service.

Findings

– It outlines the services developed during the project and pilot phases of the service. In particular it focuses on the sustainability planning to ensure that research data management is embedded as a core university service.

Originality/value

– The case study provides practical advice and valuable insights into the issues and experiences of ensuring that research data management is properly valued and supported within universities.
Pathways linking drug use and labour market trajectories: the role of catastrophic events
Authors: Richardson Lindsey , Small Will , Kerr Thomas
Published: September 2015

People affected by substance use disorders often experience sub‐optimal employment outcomes. The role of drug use in processes that produce and entrench labour market precarity among people who inject drugs (PWID) have not, however, been fully described. We recruited 22PWIDfrom ongoing prospective cohort studies in Vancouver, Canada, with whom we conducted semi‐structured retrospective interviews and then employed a thematic analysis that drew on concepts from life course theory to explore the mechanisms and pathways linking drug use and labour market trajectories. The participants' narratives identified processes corresponding to causation, whereby suboptimal employment outcomes led to harmful drug use; direct selection, where impairment, health complications or drug‐seeking activities selected individuals out of employment; and indirect selection, where external factors, such as catastrophic events, marked the initiation or intensification of substance use concurrent with sudden changes in capacities for employment. Catastrophic events linking negative transitions in both drug use and labour market trajectories were of primary importance, demarcating critical initiation and transitional events in individual risk trajectories. These results challenge conventional assumptions about the primacy of drug use in determining employment outcomes amongPWIDand suggest the importance of multidimensional support to mitigate the initiation, accumulation and entrenchment of labour market and drug‐related disadvantage.
Development and calibration of a novel sensor to quantify the water content of surface soils and biological soil crusts
Authors: Weber Bettina , Berkemeier Thomas , Ruckteschler Nina , Caesar Jennifer , Heintz Henno , Ritter Holger , Braß Henning
Published: September 2015

The surface layer of soil as transition zone between pedosphere and atmosphere plays a crucial role in exchange processes of nutrients, atmospheric gases and water. Knowledge of its water content is essential, as it governs both physiological and transport mechanisms. In arid and semi‐arid regions, this uppermost soil layer is commonly colonized by biological soil crusts (biocrusts), which play major roles in the global terrestrial carbon and nitrogen cycles. The water status of biocrusts is essential as it controls the activity, productivity and surface exchange of these poikilohydric communities. On‐site analyses of the water content of both bare and crusted soils are thus urgently needed to correctly model the exchange processes of water, nutrients and trace gases at the soil surface.

In this study, we present the biocrust wetness probe (BWP), which is the first to reliably measure the water content within biocrusts or the uppermost 5 mm of a substrate. Using a weak alternating current, the electrical conductivity is assessed over time. With an automatic calibration routine, conductivity values are temperature‐corrected and converted into water contents and precipitation equivalents.

During 1 year of continuous field measurements at 5‐min intervals, 60 BWPs worked reliably without any failure. The probes responded immediately and individually upon rain events, showing substrate‐specific water response curves, which are well represented by linear and exponential calibration curves.

The BWP facilitates the spatio‐temporal assessment and interpolation of surface soil wetness and thus biocrust activity, which governs nutrient fluxes, trace gas release and biogeochemical cycles. Its implementation in distributed sensor networks is under development.
Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of piperacillin/tazobactam during high volume haemodiafiltration in patients with septic shock
Authors: Tamme K. , Oselin K. , Kipper K. , Tasa T. , Metsvaht T. , Karjagin J. , Herodes K. , Kern H. , Starkopf J.
Published: September 2015

Background

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD) of piperacillin and tazobactam during high‐volume haemodiafiltration (HVHDF).

Methods

A single dose of piperacillin/tazobactam (4/0.5 g) was administered as 30 minute infusion during HVHDF to 10 patients with acute kidney injury due to septic shock. Arterial blood samples were collected before and at 30 or 60 min intervals over 8 h (12 samples) after study drug administration. Concentrations of piperacillin and tazobactam were determined by HPLC‐MS/MS. R software was used for population PK analysis and Monte Carlo Simulation of probability of PK/PD target attainment (PTA) in 1000 subjects.

Results

A total of 101 samples were collected during HVHDF. The median (IQR) estimated glomerular filtration rate of the patients was 16 (11.25–27.5) ml/min/1.73 m2 and HVHDF effluent rate was 208 (146.3–298.3) ml/kg/h. A final two‐compartment population PK model predicted mean (%SE) total piperacillin clearance on HVHDF was 6.9 (6.4) l/h, volume of distribution of central compartment 9.0 (10.1) l and of peripheral compartment 11.2 (12.2) l. The PTA of 50% fT>MIC for piperacillin 4 g/tazobactam 0.5 g dosed every 8 h as 0.5‐h and 4‐h infusion was 84.3% and 100% for MIC of 16 mg/l respectively. Aiming 100% fT>MIC of 16 mg/l, the PTA values were 88.6% and 61.0%, for piperacillin 4 g/tazobactam 0.5 g 4‐h infusion every 6 and 8 h respectively.

Conclusions

For bactericidal PK/PD target attainment piperacillin/tazobactam doses of 4/0.5 g every 8 h appear appropriate in septic shock patients with minimal residual renal function during HVHDF.
Services for people at high risk improve outcomes in patients with first episode psychosis
Authors: Fusar‐Poli P. , Díaz‐Caneja C. M. , Patel R. , Valmaggia L. , Byrne M. , Garety P. , Shetty H. , Broadbent M. , Stewart R. , McGuire P.
Published: September 2015

Objective

About one‐third of patients referred to services for people at high risk for psychosis may have already developed a first episode of psychosis (FEP). We compared clinical outcomes in FEP patients who presented to either high risk or conventional mental health services.

Method

Retrospective study comparing duration of hospital admission, referral‐to‐diagnosis time, need for compulsory hospital admission and frequency of admission in patients with FEP who initially presented to a high‐risk service (n = 164) to patients with FEP who initially presented to conventional mental health services (n = 2779). Regression models were performed, controlling for several confounders.

Results

FEP patients who had presented to a high‐risk service spent 17 fewer days in hospital [95% CI: −33.7 to (−0.3)], had a shorter referral‐to‐diagnosis time [B coefficient −74.5 days, 95% CI: −101.9 to −(47.1)], a lower frequency of admission [IRR: 0.49 (95% CI: 0.39–0.61)] and a lower likelihood of compulsory admission [OR: 0.52 (95% CI: 0.34–0.81)] in the 24 months following referral, as compared to FEP patients who were first diagnosed at conventional services.

Conclusion

Services for people at high risk for psychosis are associated with better clinical outcomes in patients who are already psychotic.
Reversal of alcohol‐induced effects on response control due to changes in proprioceptive information processing
Authors: Stock Ann‐Kathrin , Mückschel Moritz , Beste Christian
Published: September 2015

Recent research has drawn interest to the effects of binge drinking on response selection. However, choosing an appropriate response is a complex endeavor that usually requires us to process and integrate several streams of information. One of them is proprioceptive information about the position of limbs. As to now, it has however remained elusive how binge drinking affects the processing of proprioceptive information during response selection and control in healthy individuals. We investigated this question using neurophysiological (EEG) techniques in a response selection task, where we manipulated proprioceptive information. The results show a reversal of alcohol‐induced effects on response control due to changes in proprioceptive information processing. The most likely explanation for this finding is that proprioceptive information does not seem to be properly integrated in response selection processes during acute alcohol intoxication as found in binge drinking. The neurophysiological data suggest that processes related to the preparation and execution of the motor response, but not upstream processes related to conflict monitoring and spatial attentional orienting, underlie these binge drinking‐dependent modulations. Taken together, the results show that even high doses of alcohol have very specific effects within the cascade of neurophysiological processes underlying response control and the integration of proprioceptive information during this process.