bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The modeling and controlling of electrohydraulic actuator for quadruped robot based on fuzzy Proportion Integration Differentiation controller
Authors: Zhe Xu , Junyao Gao , Hui Li , Huaxin Liu , Xin Li , Yi Liu , Wentao Sun , Wenxue Zhao
Published: January 2014

Hydraulic actuators are widely used in various kinds of industrial applications. High-power density is key parameters for engineering applications especially for quadruped robots applied in the outdoor environment. Therefore, an increasing number of advanced robots are equipped with hydraulic actuators. In this paper, to compensate the inherent nonlinearities and enhance the performance of the quadruped robot, a hybrid fuzzy controller composed of fuzzy logic controller and Proportion Integration Differentiation controller is evaluated both in simulations and experiments. The control strategy is developed based on the accurate mathematical model. The Matlab Simulink and Fuzzy Logic Toolbox are implemented to accomplish the simulations under flexible loads. Single hydraulic actuator and single leg experiments are accomplished on the specific platforms. Both the simulations and the experimental results indicate that the fuzzy Proportion Integration Differentiation control strategy is capable of fulfilling the specific position tracking under diverse loads. Compared with the conventional Proportion Integration Differentiation controller, the fuzzy Proportion Integration Differentiation controller provided a desirable performance under heavy load with comparatively little response and settling time. Results show that the fuzzy Proportion Integration Differentiation control strategy can effectively achieve the objective of enhancing position tracking robustness under flexible loads and improve the performance of quadruped robot.
A quasi one-dimensional bleed flow rate model for terminal normal shock stability in mixed compression supersonic inlet
Authors: Qiushi Li , Yongzhao Lv , Shaobin Li
Published: January 2014

Ninety-degree (normal) bleed slots have been used to stabilize the terminal normal shock in the throat of a mixed compression supersonic inlet. In this study, a quasi-one-dimensional bleed flow rate model, consisting of a constant-area channel with a pair of normal slots symmetrically located along the upper and lower endwalls, is developed. The bleed flow rate is shown to be a function of the terminal normal shock position within the slot. Some key factors, such as the bleed discharge coefficient, taken from the Bragg model, were derived from the basic laws of conservation for a one-dimensional simplification. Furthermore, numerical simulations based on Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations were performed to analyze the flow characteristics around the bleed slots. The predictions of the bleed flow rate model agree well with computational fluid dynamics results. This method may be helpful to predict the stability of the terminal normal shock in mixed compression supersonic inlets.
The protective effects of endothelin-A receptor antagonist BQ-123 in pentylenetetrazole-induced seizure in rats
Authors: Erdogan H , Ekici F , Katar M , Kesici H , Aslan H
Published: January 2014

Endothelin-1 has been shown to increase neuronal activity and glutaminergic synaptic transmission by endothelin-A receptors (ETAR) in the nucleus tractus solitarius neurons that play an important role in epileptic seizures. Therefore, BQ-123 as an ETAR antagonist might attenuate neuronal excitability and glutaminergic synaptic transmission. The main purpose of the present study is to investigate the protective effect of acute BQ-123 treatment against pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)-induced tonic–clonic seizures. Wistar albino rats were divided into three groups: control, PTZ, and PTZ + BQ-123 groups. BQ-123 (3 mg/kg, intravenously) was administered for 15 min before injecting with PTZ (50 mg/kg, intraperitoneally). We determined a delay resulting from BQ-123 in “duration of the seizure onset.” “Number of rats with major seizure” also decreased according to scoring with video camera in PTZ + BQ-123 group. In BQ-123-treated group, there were eight rats without a major seizure, but only one rat had a delayed major seizure. The brain tissue glutathione peroxidase activity was significantly decreased in the PTZ and PTZ + BQ-123 groups. According to the results of the control group, there was a significant increase in the protein carbonyl levels of the PTZ group and a significant increase in the nitric oxide levels of the PTZ + BQ-123 group. Histological examination showed an increase in the number of neuronal hyperchromatic nucleus especially in hippocampal gyrus dentatus region of BQ-123-treated group. We concluded that BQ-123 impeded the formation and spread of seizure to a great degree. The beneficial effects of BQ-123 were comparatively supported with biochemical parameters and histological examinations.
Effects of plasma-emulating light-emitting diode (LED) versus conventional LED on cytotoxic effects and polymerization capacity of orthodontic composites
Authors: Çörekçi B , Irgın C , Halıcıoğlu K , Dursun S , Yavuz MZ
Published: January 2014

Objectives:

The aim of this study was to evaluate, the cytotoxicity of orthodontic composites in vitro as a function of degree of conversion (DC) and the light curing units (LCU) employed on mouse fibroblast (L929).

Materials and Methods:

Cured samples of the composites Light bond ( Reliance Orthodontic Products, Itasca, Illinois, USA), Ortho bracket paste (Bisco, Schaumburg, Illinois, USA), Opal bond MV (OPAL, South Jordan, Utah, USA), and Transbond XT (3M, Monrovia, California, USA) were prepared. Polymerization was performed with two LCUs: VALO Ortho (Ultradent, South Jordan, Utah, USA) is a third-generation LCU and Elipar S10 (3M, USA) is a second-generation LCU. Four samples were immersed in cell culture medium to obtain composite extracts. After incubation of L929 cell cultures with the extracts obtained, cytotoxicity was determined using the methyl tetrazolium test. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to evaluate DC for five samples. A multivariate analysis of variance (ANOVA), two-way ANOVA, and Tukey’s honestly significant difference test were utilized for statistical analyses.

Results:

Cytotoxicity and DC of all tested composites ( p < 0.001) and the interaction between composites and LCUs ( p < 0.01) were significantly different. LCUs had no significant influence on the cytotoxicity and DC of composite materials ( p > 0.05). The correlations between cell viability and DC were positive for three composites but statistically insignificant.

Conclusion:

Composites and LCUs must be matched with one another to result in satisfactory maximal biocompatibility and DC. Opal Bond plasma light-emitting diode combination was a better choice for cell viability. Three composites showed a positive correlation between cytotoxicity and DC. Therefore high-intensity LCUs can be said to efficiently affect polymerization, and so, higher DC rates may achieve higher cell viability rates.
Academic life in the fast lane: The experience of time and speed in British academia
Authors: Vostal Filip
Published: January 2014

It is relatively uncontroversial to say that increasing workload, speed of change and the feeling that life is getting faster negatively impact on the academic profession. Drawing from primary data and secondary analyses, this article, nonetheless, highlights the specific ambivalence that emerges from investigations of time experience in contemporary academia. The argument presented here distinguishes between dominant oppressive acceleration with adverse implications and subtle, yet non-negligible, energizing accelerative moments. In the first instance, I explore how the increasing inability to determine one’s own temporal rhythm results in increasingly reported feelings of guilt. These feelings are, moreover, exacerbated by the currently ubiquitous doctrine of ‘excellence’, which has specific temporal connotations. Second, reflecting on phenomenological aspects of research conduct – a constitutive academic activity – I track the positive attributes of enabling acceleration as integral components of academic lifeworld. In this, I differ from the existing accounts analysing academic life in the fast lane, which unreservedly define acceleration in unfavourable terms, and yet in no way do I underestimate the seriousness of the negative consequences of rush, hurry and intensified workload for the scholarly profession. Broaching acceleration as a variegated experience, I conclude by outlining the inclusive conception of unhasty time and stress the need for its political enactment in higher education policy.
A Bayesian model for joint analysis of multivariate repeated measures and time to event data in crossover trials
Authors: Liu Fang , Li Qing
Published: January 2014

Joint modeling of longitudinal and survival data has become a popular technique in analyzing longitudinal clinical trials. In this discussion, the potentials of joint modeling are explored for analyzing time to event and multivariate repeated measures in crossover studies. The work is motivated by a real-life crossover study with three visual analog scale responses and a time to event response. To recover the information lost due to censoring of the time to event variable, we propose a Bayesian joint model to analyze the visual analog scale and time to event responses jointly, leveraging the moderate associations among the responses. The joint model links the time to event variable to the visual analog scale repeated measures via multi-layered subject-specific random effects. We show the Bayesian joint model produces more efficient inferences with satisfactory goodness of fit in general with comparison to modeling of the visual analog scale and time to event responses separately. A simulation study is performed to demonstrate the inferential advantages of Bayesian joint model over separate modeling and maximum likelihood approaches via non-linear mixed modeling in the crossover setting. This work also demonstrates the flexibility and usefulness of zero-one inflated beta regression in modeling non-Gaussian fixed-boundaries-inflated outcomes in general.
Trade Openness, Real Exchange Rate, Gross Domestic Investment and Growth in Indonesia
Authors: Yusoff Mohammed B. , Febrina Ilza
Published: January 2014

This study examines the relationships among economic growth, domestic investment, real exchange rate and trade openness in Indonesia using the Johansen cointegration test and Granger causality test. The results suggest that there exists a long-run relationship among the variables. All the estimated coefficients of the long-run equation have the correct positive signs and significant at least at the 5 per cent level. Specifically, in the long run, a 1 per cent increase in trade openness leads to about 26.5 per cent increase in Indonesian real GDP, a 1 per cent increase in domestic investment will spur real GDP by 1.8 per cent, and a 1 per cent depreciation of the rupiah raises real GDP by about 6.4 per cent. The results from the Granger causality test suggest that all the variables affect real GDP in the short run. Both trade openness and gross domestic investment cause growth unidirectionally in the short run, but feedback occurs between growth and the real exchange rate. The evidences suggest that trade openness, gross domestic investment and the exchange rate are important determinants of economic growth and therefore policy makers should seriously take these variables into account in their policy construct in order to achieve sustained economic growth in Indonesia. Specifically, Indonesia should liberalise foreign trade, improve the domestic investment climate and maintain exchange rate stability.

JEL Classification: F31, F41, F43
The Impact of the Australian Carbon Tax on Industries and Households
Authors: Meng Sam , Siriwardana Mahinda , McNeill Judith
Published: January 2014

With the new Australian Government and various interest groups objecting to the Australian carbon tax, public opinion about pricing carbon is divided. Some of the disagreement may be due to misunderstandings about the effects of the policy. In an effort to clarify some of the issues, this article reports the simulated effects of a carbon tax of A$23 per tonne of carbon dioxide on different economic agents, with and without a compensation policy. We employ a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model with an environmentally extended social accounting matrix (SAM). At the sectoral level, brown coal electricity, black coal electricity and the brown coal mining sectors are big losers. The effect on various employment occupations is mildly negative, ranging from −0.6 per cent to −1.7 per cent, with production and transport workers worst affected. According to household utility projections, low-income households suffer more from a carbon tax and benefit more from the proposed compensation policy. However, the commonly used equivalent variation (EV) tends to reverse this conclusion.

JEL Classification: H23, H31, H32, Q52, Q54
Creditworthiness of a Borrower and the Selection Process in Micro-finance: A Case Study from the Urban Slums of India
Authors: Paul Sohini
Published: January 2014

This article examines whether urban micro-finance institutions (MFIs) consider proxy/hidden collateral in the absence of physical as well as social collateral in judging the creditworthiness of a borrower. MFIs operating in urban slums often adopt an individual lending mechanism since borrowers are not willing to bear joint liability due to the acute problem of migration. Therefore, urban MFIs that offer individual loans are extra-cautious about minimising default risk. This article studies whether MFIs consider ownership of a room in a slum as a hidden selection criterion in a loan programme. Room ownership indicates stability in a particular location, and also indicates the income-generation capability of an aspirant borrower. We use a primary survey database collected from a non-governmental organisation, Navnirman Samaj Vikas Kendra, which provides micro-credit in four slums of north Mumbai in India. We find that the probability of getting selected in a micro-credit programme is significantly higher if a loan applicant owns a room than if the applicant lives in a rented room. MFIs appear to be more concerned about shielding themselves from default than fulfilling the broad goal of maximising social welfare by reaching the poorest of the poor. We present our study with the caveat that the results may not be generalisable, since they are based on a case study.

JEL Classification: D78, G20, G21
‘Bhora Mugedhi versus Bhora musango’: The interface between football discourse and Zimbabwean politics
Authors: Ncube Lyton
Published: January 2014

Football is the most popular sport in Zimbabwe and across the globe. It has been asserted elsewhere that the game is not limited to scoring goals on the pitch but that this also occurs in politics and power struggles. This study explores the interface between football discourse and politics during elections in Zimbabwe in July 2013. The study is based on the premise of a neo-Gramscian perspective which views popular culture (including football) as a terrain of ideological struggle. It utilises an ethnographic approach to make a ‘thick description’ of the relationship between football discourse and contemporary Zimbabwean politics. The study employs critical discourse analysis on purposively selected political campaign speeches, political advertisements, songs by politicians, and comments posted and circulated in social media such as Facebook and Whatsapp during and after the election period by ‘ordinary’ Zimbabweans. The findings suggest that political parties, specifically the Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (ZANU PF) and the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) appropriated football images, symbols, metaphors and discourses in their campaign communications. Zimbabwe symbolically became a football pitch where these two main rivals battled to score political points. ‘Ordinary’ Zimbabweans resembled the fans and/referees in the game whose vote symbolically became the act of scoring goals for ZANU PF; while for MDC-T it was akin to giving a red card to the ZANU PF party.
Reflecting on our practice: an evaluation of Balint groups for medical students in psychiatry
Authors: Parker Stephen D , Leggett Andrew
Published: January 2014

Objective:

This paper qualitatively evaluates a one-year trial of Balint clinical reflection groups for medical students in psychiatry at a large Australian tertiary referral hospital. The trial considered whether clinical reflection groups following the Balint process would be perceived as useful and relevant to the learning needs of the student participants.

Method:

A grounded theory approach was undertaken. This included survey data, thematic analysis of written feedback, and facilitator reflection on the process. Facilitators adapted the group process in response to participants’ needs. These modifications included: increased education regarding the Balint process; the introduction of co-presenters; and the inclusion of a didactic summary following each session.

Results:

The evaluation suggested that fidelity of the Balint group experience was achieved and that student attitudes were neutral to mildly positive regarding the educational experience.

Conclusions:

Balint groups are potentially useful to medical students in the Australian context. We suggest that Balint groups may be more useful when applied in less alienating learning environments, such as during general practice rotations. Emphasis is placed on the need to maintain a dynamic approach by adapting the group and the educational processes as the work unfolds.
Revealing Tact Within Postnatal Care
Authors: Smythe Elizabeth , Payne Deborah , Wilson Sally , Paddy Ann , Heard Kate
Published: January 2014

In this article, we explore the nature of good postnatal care through a hermeneutic unpacking of the notion of tact, drawing on the philosophical writings of Heidegger, Gadamer, and van Manen. The tactful encounters considered were from a hermeneutic research study within a small, rural birthing center in New Zealand. Insights drawn from the analysis were as follows: the openness of listening, watching and being attuned that builds a positive mode of engagement, recognizing that the distance the woman needs from her nurse/midwife is a call of tact, that tact is underpinned by a spirit of care, within tact there are moods and tact might require firmness, and that all of these factors come together to build trust. We conclude that the attunement of tact requires that the staff member has time to spend with a woman, enough energy to engage, and a spirit of care. Women know that tactful practice builds their confidence and affects their mothering experience. Tact cannot be assumed; it needs to be nurtured and sheltered.
Energy absorption of three-dimensional angle-interlock woven composite under ballistic penetration based on a multi-scale finite element model
Authors: Luan Kun , Gu Bohong
Published: January 2014

This paper reports the ballistic energy absorption of three-dimensional angle-interlock composite (3DAWC) based on a ballistic experiment and a theoretical model with high strain rate constitutive equation of fiber tows. The 3DAWC panels were penetrated under a hemispherical–cylindrical steel projectile, while time testers recorded the initial velocities and residual velocities of projectile in this process. The damage modes of 3DAWC are observed and analyzed from the view of penetrated damage morphologies and experimental velocity data. In order to demonstrate the energy absorption mechanism with more accuracy, a multi-scale finite element model of 3DAWC under ballistic penetration is specially designed and established to calculate this ballistic event. The constitutive relationship of the Twaron® filament yarn in microstructural model is derived from the springs and dashpots model and compiled into user-defined material subroutine in commercial-available finite element software package LS-DYNA, which can introduce strain rate sensitivity of fiber bundles to ballistic energy absorption process. A comparison of theoretical and experimental results shows a good agreement indicating an accurate validity of the multi-scale finite element model of 3DAWC. Moreover, this model can deeply reveal the ballistic energy absorption mechanism of 3DAWC which will help to evaluate the structural tolerance of ballistic protection composite material.
Dissipated energy-based fatigue lifetime calculation under multiaxial plastic thermo-mechanical loading
Authors: Gosar Aleš , Nagode Marko
Published: January 2014

The paper concerns the metallic material lifetime calculation under arbitrary multiaxial thermo-mechanical fatigue loading. An energy-based damage operator approach ([Formula: see text]) is introduced. In such an approach, fatigue lifetime is continuously computed by the Prandtl type damage operator. The dissipated energy of plastic deformation is applied as a damage parameter that is obtained at any moment by the recently developed multiaxial energy operator approach. Strain-life curves are transformed into energy-cycle damage curves in order to associate the damage parameter with the fatigue lifetime. The present approach is validated on turbocharger housing. A satisfactory evaluation of the fatigue lifetime is obtained even though visco-plasticity and mean stress correction are not addressed yet.
Feasibility of School-Based ADHD Interventions
Authors: Bussing Regina , Koro-Ljungberg Mirka , Gagnon Joseph Calvin , Mason Dana M. , Ellison Anne , Noguchi Kenji , Garvan Cynthia W. , Albarracin Dolores
Published: January 2014

Objective: Little is known about perceptions surrounding academic interventions for ADHD that determine intervention feasibility. Method: As part of a longitudinal mixed-methods research project, representative school district samples of 148 adolescents (54.8%), 161 parents (59.4%), 122 teachers (50.0%), 46 health care providers (53.5%), and 92 school health professionals (65.7%) completed a cross-sectional survey. They also answered open-ended questions addressing undesirable intervention effects, which were analyzed using grounded theory methods. Results: Adolescents expressed significantly lower receptivity toward academic interventions than adult respondents. Stigma emerged as a significant threat to ADHD intervention feasibility, as did perceptions that individualized interventions foster inequality. Conclusion: Findings suggest that adolescents’ viewpoints must be included in intervention development to enhance feasibility and avoid interventions acceptable to adults, but resisted by adolescents.
Do Inhibitory Control Demands Affect Event-Based Prospective Memory Performance in ADHD?
Authors: Altgassen Mareike , Koch Andrea , Kliegel Matthias
Published: January 2014

Objective: Empirical evidence on prospective memory (PM) in ADHD is inconsistent. Differential findings have been related to differential executive control demands. This study aimed at exploring the impact of inhibitory control on event-based PM performance in ADHD. Method: Eighteen adults with ADHD and 18 controls performed a word categorization task with an embedded event-based PM task. In addition, participants performed an acoustically presented task that put either low or high loads on inhibitory control processes. Results: Inhibitory load did not differentially affect PM performance: Across both inhibitory load conditions, individuals with ADHD showed reduced PM performance when compared with controls. Moreover, inhibitory load did not influence PM performance across both groups. Conclusion: Possibly, full inhibitory control resources are not necessary during the entire duration of an event-based PM task, but may suffice to be employed after cue detection when needing to interrupt the ongoing task. (J. of Att. Dis. 2019; 23(1) 51-56)
Neuropsychological Profiles on the WAIS-IV of Adults With ADHD
Authors: Theiling Johanna , Petermann Franz
Published: January 2014

Objective: The aim of the study was to investigate the pattern of neuropsychological profiles on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale–IV (WAIS-IV) for adults With ADHD relative to randomly matched controls and to assess overall intellectual ability discrepancies of the Full Scale Intelligence Quotient (FSIQ) and the General Ability Index (GAI). Method: In all, 116 adults With ADHD and 116 controls between 16 and 71 years were assessed. Results: Relative to controls, adults With ADHD show significant decrements in subtests with working memory and processing speed demands with moderate to large effect sizes and a higher GAI in comparison with the FSIQ. Conclusion: This suggests first that deficits identified with previous WAIS versions are robust in adults With ADHD and remain deficient when assessed with the WAIS-IV; second that the WAIS-IV reliably differentiates between patients and controls; and third that a reduction of the FSIQ is most likely due to a decrement in working memory and processing speed abilities. The findings have essential implications for the diagnostic process.
Group Emotional Contagion and Complaint Intentions in Group Service Failure
Authors: Du Jiangang , Fan Xiucheng , Feng Tianjun
Published: January 2014

Service failure is well documented in service marketing literature, which mainly focuses on service interactions between employees and individual customers. However, prior research has not examined customers’ emotional and behavioral responses during group service failure—that is, a service involving a group of customers who do not meet the expectations of all or the majority of the customers. Compared with service failure involving individual customers (individual service failure), customers in group service failure are likely to show different emotional and behavioral characteristics. The authors conduct two experiments and find that customers have higher levels of anger and complaint intentions in group service failure than in individual service failure. In addition, the displays of anger by surrounding customers are positively related to individual customers’ anger. Through a second experiment, this article further investigates the role of group size and group familiarity on group emotional contagion during group service failure. The results show that both group size and group familiarity moderate the relationship between the displays of anger by surrounding customers and an individual customer’s anger—that is, the effect of group emotional contagion is stronger in a large/familiar group than in a small/unfamiliar group. The results provide several theoretical and managerial implications for research in group service failure.
Sympathetic Coverage of Gujarat Riots’ Muslim Victims: A Case of ‘Split Public’
Authors: Khan Tabassum Ruhi
Published: January 2014

With reference to Herman and Chomsky’s propaganda model, this article analyzes the Indian elite English-language dailies’ strong criticism of the Gujarat government for failing to protect Muslim victims of the riots that engulfed the state in 2002. The propaganda model claims that media in capitalist societies consistently serve the interests of corporations and state powers, while its liberal–pluralist critics argue that the model does not do justice to media’s complex functioning. In exploring if the model can be applied to free market capitalist economies in developing countries, such as in India, this article analyzes the English-language national dailies’ critical stance as opposed to the vernacular-language newspapers’ supportive posture. This article argues that the different positioning of the dailies reflects the dissent among ruling elites, which Rajagopal ( 2001 ) refers to as a ‘split public’. Nevertheless, the model remains relevant because a contiguous and homologous space between media institutions and dominant powers is still discernible as different factions align with different media outlets. The Gujarati-language dailies reflected the views of local/regional businesses and power centres, while the English-language dailies with a national circulation were concerned with larger agenda of protecting India’s reputation as a favourable business destination that was being damaged by the breakdown in law and order.
Proof of causation: A new approach in cancer cases
Authors: Wishart Gordon C , Axon Andrew
Published: January 2014

This paper considers the judgments in JD v MELANIE MATHER [2012] EWHC 3063 (QB) and LORETTA OLIVER v GARY WILLIAMS [2013] EWHC 600 (QB) and how new prognostic models for breast cancer survival can be used by litigants to overcome the perceived injustices created by common law principles of causation established in Gregg v Scott [2005] UKHL 2. We consider how the use of epidemiological data in breast cancer cases permits the lawyer to pose the question of how a delay in diagnosis reduces life expectancy and how, in an increasingly high number of cases, that is preferable to the traditional approach of addressing only survival. By applying new statistical data to establish the effect of delay upon life expectancy, the court will be able to avoid apparent injustice without straining yet further established principles of common law causation. More importantly, in many cases for which redress is currently not available, it will better reflect the duty of the treating doctor and the expectations of the patient, something the common law should strive to achieve. This approach was applied in JD v MELANIE MATHER [2012] EWHC 3063 (QB) and considered in LORETTA OLIVER v GARY WILLIAMS [2013] EWHC 600 (QB).
Exploring PE teachers’ ‘gut feelings’
Authors: Svennberg Lena , Meckbach Jane , Redelius Karin
Published: January 2014

Research shows that teachers’ grading is influenced by non-achievement factors in addition to official criteria, such as knowledge and skills. Some grading criteria are internalised by the teacher, who is sometimes unable to verbalise the criteria used and refers to what is called a ‘gut feeling’. Therefore, transparency, validity and reliability are problematic. The aim of this study was to explore which criteria physical education teachers consider important when grading. Such an exploration makes it possible to discuss how the verbalised criteria and the value they are given by the teachers can be understood. Four Year 9 teachers at different Swedish compulsory schools were interviewed using Kelly’s Repertory Grid technique. Among the verbalised criteria, four themes were identified: motivation, knowledge and skills, self-confidence and interaction with others. The teachers sometimes had difficulties predicting which criteria had relevance to the grades given, and the criteria considered important by the teachers were not always reflected in the grade. The verbalised criteria revealed teachers using grades to encourage such student behaviours that helped them to handle the classroom situation and to facilitate students learning. To become cognisant of and develop their grading, methods to verbalise their individual grading criteria were needed, and Kelly’s Repertory Grid technique is one possible option. The results provide discussion points about reasons for the way teachers are grading.
Vocational support approaches in autism spectrum disorder: A synthesis review of the literature
Authors: Nicholas David B , Attridge Mark , Zwaigenbaum Lonnie , Clarke Margaret
Published: January 2014

This synthesis-based analysis identifies and reviews studies evaluating vocational resources for adults with autism spectrum disorder. It is based on a larger systematic review of intervention studies in autism spectrum disorder, from which a critical interpretive synthesis was conducted on studies related to vocation and autism spectrum disorder. In total, 10 studies were found that examine employment support for youth and adults with autism spectrum disorder. Two domains of vocational intervention in the literature were found: supported employment including community placement and job coaching and media and technology–based augmentative tools. The literature is limited in volume and quality of methodology, yet emerging constructs are promising in introducing the utility of vocational resources, in particular, supported employment in community settings. These vocational approaches are examined, along with representative studies. Recommendations for advancing practice, community capacity, and research are offered.
Reading and math achievement profiles and longitudinal growth trajectories of children with an autism spectrum disorder
Authors: Wei Xin , Christiano Elizabeth RA , Yu Jennifer W , Wagner Mary , Spiker Donna
Published: January 2014

This study examined the reading and math achievement profiles and longitudinal growth trajectories of a nationally representative sample of children ages 6 through 9 with an autism spectrum disorder. Four distinct achievement profiles were identified: higher-achieving (39%), hyperlexia (9%), hypercalculia (20%) and lower-achieving (32%). Children with hypercalculia and lower-achieving profiles were more likely to be from low socioeconomic families and had lower functional cognitive skills than the higher-achieving profile. All four profiles lost ground in passage comprehension over time. Slower improvement occurred for the higher-achieving group on letter–word identification, the hyperlexia group on conversation abilities and the hypercalculia group on calculation and functional cognitive skills relative to the lower-achieving group.
Jazz as cultural modernity: Consumerism, nationalism and cosmopolitan freedom
Authors: Stevenson Nick
Published: January 2014

In this article I seek to explore the cosmopolitan foundations of jazz music and ask whether it currently exists as anything other than a postmodern commodity. I seek to investigate the practice of jazz in the 1950s and 1960s and argue that it sought to redefine what was meant by freedom. The aesthetic disputes of this period among musicians and critics around the practice of modernist (be-bop and free jazz) jazz music have played a crucial role in defining the identity of jazz. Critical here remain the attempts by musicians to establish a more autonomous relationship with the culture and entertainment industry. However the radical politics offered by jazz is fraught with ambiguity, caught between cosmopolitan sentiment and the establishment of gendered and racial hierarchies. Further, we also need to carefully investigate the role of black nationalism and the role that it has played in seeking to criticize more cosmopolitan understandings. In the final part of the argument I look at the material and cultural condition of contemporary jazz. Despite the power of the cultural commodification and the culture industry, jazz continues to exhibit a number of cosmopolitan frames that pose critical questions to the dominant neoliberal society.
Branding consumerism: Cross-media characters and story-worlds at the turn of the 20th century
Authors: Freeman Matthew
Published: January 2014

This article will serve to provide a historicised intervention on the configuration of what have come to be known as cross-media characters, fictional story-worlds, and indeed media branding at the turn of 20th-century America. The study will examine a number of innovative cross-media practices that emerged during the first decade of the 20th century, practices encouraged by the slippage of commercial logos, fictional characters, and brands across platforms, which altogether occurred through the broader rise of modern advertising and the industrialisation of consumer culture. I offer two examples of what can be termed respectively as cross-textual self-promotion and cross-media branding during this historical period, grounded in such cultural factors as turn-of-the-century immigration, new forms of mass media – such as, most notably, newspapers, comic strips and magazines – and consumerism and related textual activities.
Dollars to dimes: Disparity, uncertainty, and marketing to the poor at US dollar stores
Authors: Shrestha Sriya
Published: January 2014

This article contextualizes the growth of dollar stores in the United States within multinational corporations’ increased focus on poor people as growth markets. Dollar stores have existed since the 1950s, however they have become increasingly popular and ubiquitous since the 1990s after a decade of economic liberalization policies increased wealth and income disparity around the world. Analysis of retail trade publications, popular press, and corporate documents indicate the contradictions that these retailers and consumer goods companies face in targeting low-income consumers in the United States. They seek to dissociate themselves from US economic decline and loss even as the modes of production and circuits of distribution they employ indicate the erosion of an exceptional American middle-class consumerism. Thus, dollar stores both index the tensions of late capitalist globalization while also obscuring widespread disenfranchisement through the promise of inclusion and access for marginalized populations.
Rustic obsessions: The role of Slovenian folk pop in the Slovenian national imaginary
Authors: Stanković Peter
Published: January 2014

The article explores the relationship between Slovenian national identity and popular music. A substantial empirical research (150 interviewees from 4 different Slovenian regions) has been conducted to find out what kind of music Slovenians themselves perceive as typically Slovenian and what are for them the defining characteristics of these music acts or styles. The results show that the vast majority of interviewees understand as typically Slovenian just one music style, Slovenian folk pop ( narodno-zabavna glasba). The key features that make Slovenian folk pop Slovenian are for them its content (beauties of Slovenia), its contribution to Slovenian national awareness, Slovenian lyrics, etc. Various possible reasons for such uniform and even self-referential answers are discussed. Among them are cultural re-traditionalisation of former Yugoslavian republics (now independent states) after the break-up of Yugoslavia in 1991, recent modernisation of Slovenian folk pop, and the need for a country as culturally, historically, geographically, etc. diverse as Slovenia to organise its symbolic imaginary around simple and understandable signifiers.
Being-towards the social: Mood and orientation to location-based social media, computational things and applications
Authors: Evans Leighton
Published: January 2014

Through an investigation of patterns of use of the location-based social network Foursquare derived from an extensive ethnographic survey of users, this paper focuses on the orientation of users towards location-based social media and mobile computational devices. Utilising Heidegger’s notions of mood and attunement to the world, the paper argues that the towards-which of the user, that is the mood of the user in a phenomenological sense, is critical to their experience of using location-based social media and the revealing of place that emerges from that usage. A contrast between a technological and a poetic or computational revealing of place can then be established based on the phenomenological orientation of user to device, application and world. The emphasis on orientation and attunement has implications for application design and research on user experience.
Momentary ambiances: psychogeography in action
Authors: Souzis A.E.
Published: January 2014

This paper describes and contextualizes the Situationist concept of psychogeography as a radical political strategy that can transform our experience in public space and examines three psychogeography-inspired public art experiments in New York City. These projects are designed to invoke the Situationist goal of momentarily disrupting routine and expectations in public space using the psychogeographic tactics of play, chance, dérive and détournement, as well as the similar anarchist notion of temporary autonomous zones. The paper documents the goals and outcomes of these experiments to see how brief transformations in public space can become liberating political acts.
The power and limits of philosophy of education
Authors: Cuypers Stefaan E.
Published: January 2014

This article reflects on different conceptions of educational philosophy, their strengths and weaknesses. Against the backdrop of major alternatives, and the received view, delineated by RS Peters, John White’s recent radically practical conception is critically assessed. Notwithstanding a pluralist answer to the question ‘What is, can or ought philosophy of education to be?’, the article advocates the asymmetrical dependence of all other conceptions upon the analytic conception of educational philosophy as the primus inter pares the first among equals.
Effects of Person-Centered Care Approaches to Dementia Care on Staff
Authors: Barbosa Ana , Sousa Liliana , Nolan Mike , Figueiredo Daniela
Published: January 2014

Person-centered care (PCC) has been the subject of several intervention studies reporting positive effects on people with dementia. However, its impact on staff remains unclear. The purpose of this systematic review was to assess the impact of PCC approaches on stress, burnout, and job satisfaction of staff caring for people with dementia in residential aged care facilities. Research articles published up to 2013 were searched on PubMed, Web of Knowledge, Scopus, and EBSCO and reference lists from relevant publications. The review was limited to experimental and quasi-experimental studies, published in English and involving direct care workers (DCWs). In all, 7 studies were included, addressing different PCC approaches: dementia care mapping (n = 1), stimulation-oriented approaches (n = 2), emotion-oriented approaches (n = 2), and behavioral-oriented approaches (n = 2). Methodological weaknesses and heterogeneity among studies make it difficult to draw firm conclusions. However, 5 studies reported benefits on DCWs, suggesting a tendency toward the effectiveness of PCC on staff.
The Efficacy and Timing of Melodic Intonation Therapy in Subacute Aphasia
Authors: van der Meulen Ineke , van de Sandt-Koenderman W.Mieke.E. , Heijenbrok-Kal Majanka H. , Visch-Brink Evy G. , Ribbers Gerard M.
Published: January 2014

Background. Little is known about the efficacy of language production treatment in subacute severe nonfluent aphasia. Although Melodic Intonation Therapy (MIT) is a language production treatment for this disorder, until now MIT effect studies have focused on chronic aphasia. Purpose. This study examines whether language production treatment with MIT is effective in subacute severe nonfluent aphasia. Methods. A multicenter, randomized controlled trial was conducted in a waiting-list control design: patients were randomly allocated to the experimental group (MIT) or the control group (control intervention followed by delayed MIT). In both groups, therapy started at 2 to 3 months poststroke and was given intensively (5 h/wk) during 6 weeks. In a second therapy period, the control group received 6 weeks of intensive MIT. The experimental group resumed their regular treatment. Assessment was done at baseline (T1), after the first intervention period (T2), and after the second intervention period (T3). Efficacy was evaluated at T2. The impact of delaying MIT on therapy outcome was also examined. Results. A total of 27 participants were included: n = 16 in the experimental group and n = 11 in the control group. A significant effect in favor of MIT on language repetition was observed for trained items, with mixed results for untrained items. After MIT there was a significant improvement in verbal communication but not after the control intervention. Finally, delaying MIT was related to less improvement in the repetition of trained material. Conclusions. In these patients with subacute severe nonfluent aphasia, language production treatment with MIT was effective. Earlier treatment may lead to greater improvement.
Mixed Methods and Its Application in Prehospital Research
Authors: McManamny Tegwyn , Sheen Jade , Boyd Leanne , Jennings Paul A.
Published: January 2014

The utilization of mixed methods in prehospital research is relatively new. Its use may enhance research findings, but it is not without its challenges. This study used online databases to systemically search for literature relating to the application of mixed methods in prehospital research, in order to understand the place of mixed methods research in the prehospital setting. The prehospital field appears to be embracing mixed methods as an approach to research due to its ability to address health care questions in complex, diverse environments. However, supplemental literature in this area is limited, with mixed methods expertise being found in other health science areas. Researchers should endeavor to continue to contribute to this area through high-quality, rigorous mixed methods studies.
Development of a measure to examine nurses’ attitudes towards the presence of paid carers who provide care to older patients in hospitals
Authors: Iecovich Esther
Published: January 2014

Many older adults who are hospitalised are functionally disabled and/or are cognitively impaired and need help with basic activities. The nursing staff are overloaded with work and families are not always available to look after their hospitalised older family members. Therefore, a growing number of older patients hire paid carers of whom many are migrant live-in care workers who provide them with care at home and in hospitals during hospitalisation. The study was aimed to develop a measure that will examine nursing staff’s attitudes towards these paid carers in hospital wards. The measure that was developed includes two dimensions: negative and positive attitudes. The study was conducted in 10 internal medicine and 4 geriatric wards in two general hospitals in Israel. Participants included 265 nurses. Factor analysis loaded two factors that resembled the two dimensions. The final version of the measure included six positive and six negative items, showed good convergent and divergent validity, and good internal consistency for each of the dimensions. Further studies are needed to examine the measure’s validity and reliability in different cultural and social contexts.
Inpatient hospital outcomes following injury in Suriname: lessons for prevention
Authors: Pracht Etienne
Published: January 2014

Traumatic injury is an important and indiscriminant contributor to mortality. Hypothesizing that outcomes from severe injuries do not vary by demographic factors or socioeconomic status, this research analyzed the relationship between race, ethnicity, injury characteristics, and fatality following hospitalization in Suriname. Data were obtained for all hospital episodes in 2008 from the only hospital within the greater Paramaribo area that provides emergency department services. A logistic regression was used to analyze the subset of 544 non-elderly adult trauma victims to assess the contribution of patient demographics and anatomic injury severity to outcome, which was defined as mortality during acute hospitalization. The specific demographics included were patient age, gender, race, and insurance status. Injury severity was measured using the International Classification Injury Severity Score. The results indicate that age, insurance status, injury type, and injury severity were significant predictors for survival. While the uninsured experienced a higher rate of mortality, the model suggests this result is not due to physiologic reasons but behavioral and socioeconomic. The higher mortality is driven by greater injury severity, which increases not only the mortality rate but also the cost of care. Injury severity itself, independent of all other factors, is the most important contributor. The results suggest that a reduction of 10% in injury severity, around the mean, would reduce the probability of mortality by 70%. This suggests that targeting risk-taking behavior, perhaps relating to compliance with safety practices (e.g. seat belt and helmet laws), driver education, and road safety measures can play important roles in reducing mortality and morbidity from injury in Suriname.