bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Characterization and Discrimination of Plastic Materials Using Laser-Induced Fluorescence
Authors: Spizzichino Valeria , Caneve Luisa , Colao Francesco , Ruggiero Ludovica
Published: April 2016

The most meaningful spectral components in laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) spectra for several different commercial plastics have been individuated and used to automatically discriminate among different plastic materials and between plastics and complex organic materials, such as woods. Starting from LIF measurements on known samples, a number of significant wavelengths have been identified by principal component analysis (PCA). These have been used to produce intensity ratios functional to the discrimination. Threshold values for such ratios have been individuated in order to obtain an automatic recognition of plastics. The work done has been preparatory to the design and development of a multispectral imaging LIF system for fast detection of plastic debris in a post-blast scene.
Trends in Pharmacotherapy for Bladder Dysfunction Among Children in the United States, 2000 to 2013
Authors: Kinlaw Alan C. , Jonsson Funk Michele , Steiner Michael J. , Conover Mitchell M. , Pate Virginia , Wu Jennifer M.
Published: April 2016

Bladder-related issues such as nocturnal enuresis and incontinence have long been a part of general pediatric practice. Increasingly, clinicians are prescribing medications directed at a variety of types of bladder dysfunction, but no prior population-based data exist. We used MarketScan health care claims data on 32 074 638 insured children to estimate utilization patterns by age, sex, year, and geographic region in the United States from 2000 to 2013, and to assess related diagnosis codes. Approximately 1 in 500 children filled an antimuscarinic prescription. The most common prescriptions were for oxybutynin (78%) and tolterodine (17%). Rates were highest at ages 6 to 10 years (65/100 000 person-months), 31% higher for girls versus boys, peaked in 2011 (44/100 000 person-months), and were highest in the Midwest (59/100 000 person-months). Seventy-three percent of children with prescriptions had diagnosis codes for genitourinary symptoms, and 13% had codes for congenital anomalies. Research is needed regarding the comparative effectiveness and safety of these drugs in children.
Heuristic Constraint Management Methods in Multidimensional Adaptive Testing
Authors: Born Sebastian , Frey Andreas
Published: April 2016

Although multidimensional adaptive testing (MAT) has been proven to be highly advantageous with regard to measurement efficiency when several highly correlated dimensions are measured, there are few operational assessments that use MAT. This may be due to issues of constraint management, which is more complex in MAT than it is in unidimensional adaptive testing. Very few studies have examined the performance of existing constraint management methods (CMMs) in MAT. The present article focuses on the effectiveness of two promising heuristic CMMs in MAT for varying levels of imposed constraints and for various correlations between the measured dimensions. Through a simulation study, the multidimensional maximum priority index (MMPI) and multidimensional weighted penalty model (MWPM), as an extension of the weighted penalty model, are examined with regard to measurement precision and constraint violations. The results show that both CMMs are capable of addressing complex constraints in MAT. However, measurement precision losses were found to differ between the MMPI and MWPM. While the MMPI appears to be more suitable for use in assessment situations involving few to a moderate number of constraints, the MWPM should be used when numerous constraints are involved.
Effects of Aircraft Noise on Reading and Quality of Life in Primary School Children in Germany: Results From the NORAH Study
Authors: Klatte Maria , Spilski Jan , Mayerl Jochen , Möhler Ulrich , Lachmann Thomas , Bergström Kirstin
Published: April 2016

A review of the literature shows that our knowledge concerning effects of chronic aircraft noise exposure on children is still limited and does not allow well-founded predictions for children living in specific noise-exposed areas. In this study, we investigated effects of aircraft noise on cognition and quality of life in 1,243 second graders from 29 schools around Frankfurt/Main Airport in Germany. Although exposure levels at schools were below 60 dB and thus considerably lower than in previous studies, multilevel analyses revealed that increasing exposure was linearly associated with less positive ratings of quality of life, increasing noise annoyance, and decreasing reading performance. A 20 dB increase in aircraft noise exposure was associated with a decrease in reading scores of one fifth of a standard deviation, corresponding to a reading delay of about 2 months. No effects were found for verbal precursors of reading acquisition. Teachers’ reports ( N = 84) indicate that severe disruptions of classroom instruction due to aircraft noise may contribute to the effect on reading.
The New Political Economy of Health Care in the European Union
Authors: Greer Scott L. , Jarman Holly , Baeten Rita
Published: April 2016

We argue that the political economy of health care in the European Union is being changed by the creation of a substantial new apparatus of European fiscal governance. A series of treaties and legal changes since 2008 have given the European Union new powers and duties to enforce budgetary austerity in the member states, and this apparatus of fiscal governance has already extended to include detailed and sometimes coercive policy recommendations to member states about the governance of their health care systems. We map the structures of this new fiscal governance and the way it purports to affect health care decision making.
Re-Locating Memories: Transnational and Local Narratives of Indian South Africans in Cape Town
Authors: Dhupelia-Mesthrie Uma
Published: April 2016

This article plays on the word re-location to examine the memories of Indians in South Africa through oral histories about relocation as a result of the Group Areas Act, to memories of parents and grandparents relocating to South Africa from India as told to interviewers and to their own memories of journeys to India and back. The narratives of mobilities traverse time and national boundaries and are counter-posed by narratives of local mobilities as well as stasis. The article identifies ways of narrating, themes of narration and the meaning of memories while noting the re-location of memory construction against the backdrop of South Africa’s democratic transition and the 150th commemoration of the arrival of indentured Indians to South Africa. It argues that the local and the national are important in narrations of transnational journeys, thus advancing a particular approach to transnational memory studies.
Does Deliberation Breed an Appetite for Discursive Participation? Assessing the Impact of First-Hand Experience
Authors: Christensen Henrik Serup , Himmelroos Staffan , Grönlund Kimmo
Published: April 2016

Various deliberative practices have been argued to constitute viable supplements to traditional representative decision making. At the same time, doubts have been raised as to whether ordinary citizens want to be involved in such demanding forms of political participation. This question has been difficult to resolve since few citizens have had the chance to take part in genuine deliberative practices. For this reason, we examine how participation in a deliberative mini-public affected attitudes towards discursive participation as a supplement to representative decision making. Moreover, we investigate how group composition and individual-level factors affect these developments. Our data come from an experimental deliberative forum on the issue of immigration arranged in Finland in 2012. The results suggest that the participants grew more positive towards the use of deliberative practices regardless of individual socio-demographic resources, whereas the effects of prior political engagement depend on the composition of the group the participants were assigned to.
Geometrical and mechanical modelings of dry relaxed slack plain-knitted fabrics for the benefit of technical textile applications Part I: a geometrical model
Authors: Kurbak Arif
Published: April 2016

In the current literature, there is a lack of knowledge concerning which parameters are effective on relaxed slack plain-knitted conventional fabrics, although slack fabrics (i.e. fabrics with no occurrence of jamming) are commonly used for technical applications. Thus, the present series of works are conducted as further investigation on relaxed slack plain-knitted fabrics.

In the present part, Part I, a geometrical model is created based on Kurbak's 1998 model. The created model is then applied to conventional dry, wet and wash relaxed wool plain-knitted slack fabrics. The model is also applied to E-glass dry relaxed technical plain-knitted slack fabric. The applied models are then drawn to scale by using 3DS-Max computer graphical software. At first glance, the loop shapes obtained through the three-dimensional modeling of E-glass fabrics are observed to be similar to the E-glass fabric loops that were recorded in the photographs of the knitted samples.

An investigation on the physical conditions for obtaining such a special loop shape is going to be the subject of the following part, Part II.
International Relations in the prison of Political Science
Authors: Rosenberg Justin
Published: April 2016

In recent decades, the discipline of International Relations (IR) has experienced both dramatic institutional growth and unprecedented intellectual enrichment. And yet, unlike neighbouring disciplines such as Geography, Sociology, History and Comparative Literature, it has still not generated any ‘big ideas’ that have impacted across the human sciences. Why is this? And what can be done about it? This article provides an answer in three steps. First, it traces the problem to IR’s enduring definition as a subfield of Political Science. Second, it argues that IR should be re-grounded in its own disciplinary problematique: the consequences of (societal) multiplicity. And finally, it shows how this re-grounding unlocks the transdisciplinary potential of IR. Specifically, ‘uneven and combined development’ provides an example of an IR ‘big idea’ that could travel to other disciplines: for by operationalizing the consequences of multiplicity, it reveals the causal and constitutive significance of ‘the international’ for the social world as a whole.
Participating With Pictures
Authors: Sullivan Patricia
Published: April 2016

Image-based research conducted on and by research participants holds promise to extend participatory studies in technical communication by delivering research techniques that have been used for Policy Research in Public Health and other areas of participatory research (e.g., community-based participatory research). Even though they can expand policy (or even user design work), the use of participants’ images is not without challenges. The article discusses those challenges and suggests practices that stabilize the research logistically, relationally, and thematically; it also presents the approach as attractive for use in arenas that reward scrutiny even though they have traditionally been difficult to study.
ADHD in school-aged youth
Authors: Weed Elizabeth D
Published: April 2016

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder is considered one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders of childhood. Primary care providers are in the unique position of providing comprehensive care—routine care, well child visits, immunizations, and other healthcare needs—to a majority of children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. As such, primary care providers are pivotal in the diagnosis, management, and treatment of this population. This article will address special treatment considerations to aid in the management of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in the primary care setting, including substance use disorders and diversion, cardiac issues and stimulant medication, medication holidays and follow-up monitoring. The database of PubMed was searched using keywords that included attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, children, prevalence, medication holidays, safety, cardiovascular, cardiac, blood pressure, substance use, diversion, adverse drug reactions; inclusion dates were January 1, 2011 to September 30, 2015.
A Lifecourse Model of Multimorbidity Resilience
Authors: Wister Andrew V. , Coatta Katherine L. , Schuurman Nadine , Lear Scott A. , Rosin Miriam , MacKey Dawn
Published: April 2016

The purpose of this article is to advance a Lifecourse Model of Multimorbidity Resilience. It focuses on the ways in which individuals face adversities associated with multimorbidity and regain a sense of wellness through a complex, dynamic phenomenon termed resilience. A comprehensive review of 112 publications (between 1995 and 2015) was conducted using several comprehensive electronic data bases. Two independent researchers extracted and synthesized resilience literature with specific applications to chronic illness. The article outlines five stages of theoretical development of resilience, synthesizes these with the aging and chronic illness literature, builds a rationale for a lifecourse approach to resilience, and applies the model to multimorbidity. Cultivating and maintaining resilience is fundamental to functioning and quality of life for those with multimorbidity. We found that there are a number of gaps in both basic and applied research that need to be filled to advance knowledge and practice based on resilience approaches.
How Do We Integrate Students’ Vocational Goals into Introduction to Sociology Curricula, and What Are the Effects of Doing So?
Authors: Traver Amy E.
Published: April 2016

President Obama’s America’s College Promise proposal has brought renewed attention to community colleges’ capacity to connect the college and career aspirations of today’s undergraduates. Despite this capacity, however, community colleges have historically offered students two distinct educational pathways: a liberal education transfer-oriented program or a terminal vocational program. In the face of this long-standing and ideological divide, some community college instructors have taken to integrating students’ liberal and vocational learning in individual courses, an act that requires a willingness to define “liberal” and “vocational” learning in broad terms. Through a preliminary qualitative case study and content analysis of students’ assignments, this research explores the nature and impacts of said integration in two spring 2015 sections of Introduction to Sociology at Queensborough Community College of the City University of New York.
Student Engagement, Accountability, and Empowerment
Authors: Jafar Afshan
Published: April 2016

This article describes an experiment in collaborative course design in a midlevel sociology course. Unlike most of the literature on collaborative teaching and learning, which often deals with collaboration among students, this article discusses collaboration between the instructor and students. The students in this course collaborated with the instructor in designing the course—choosing the readings and developing the assignments—from the first day of class. Student feedback on the experiment was overwhelmingly positive. Three major themes that emerged from the student feedback were (1) higher levels of student engagement, (2) a sense of personal accountability, and (3) student empowerment. While the results of the student feedback mostly point to positive experiences, collaboration between students and instructors does bring a high level of uncertainty and extra work for the instructor involved. The article ends with some further guidance for those considering collaborative learning in their classrooms.
Gone With the Wind: A Meta-Analytic Review of Executive Turnover, Its Antecedents, and Postacquisition Performance
Authors: Bilgili Tsvetomira V. , Calderon Christian J. , Allen David G. , Kedia Ben L.
Published: April 2016

Considerable research has been devoted to examining the factors that influence postacquisition performance. Yet the empirical evidence remains inconclusive as to the extent to which these factors affect postacquisition performance. Building on the theory of relative standing, we propose turnover of acquired firm CEO and top management team (TMT) as an important mechanism through which commonly examined firm and deal characteristics influence postacquisition performance. Specifically, the examined antecedents represent conditions that create perceptions of diminished relative standing among acquired firm executives postacquisition. First, we conduct a meta-analysis to quantitatively synthesize existing empirical research on the effect of the specified antecedents on executive turnover and on postacquisition performance. Then, we combine meta-analysis with structural equation modeling to examine the links between four antecedents, executive turnover, and postacquisition performance in a mediation model. Meta-analytic results (based on 112 studies and 399 effect sizes) reveal that the most significant factors affecting postacquisition performance are executive turnover and the level of integration of the acquired firm. However, TMT and CEO turnover have opposite effects on postacquisition performance. Our results also show that sample and measurement characteristics of primary studies moderate the identified relations. As expected, we find that CEO and TMT turnover mediate relations between three of the four examined antecedents and postacquisition performance. We discuss theoretical contributions and provide directions for future research.
Ectopic thymic carcinoma presenting as an intrathoracic mass
Authors: Matsuoka Katsunari , Murata Yoshitake , Ueda Mitsuhiro , Miyamoto Yoshihiro
Published: April 2016

An asymptomatic 83-year-old man was found to have a right intrathoracic tumor. Computed tomography demonstrated a soft-tissue density mass measuring 55 × 25 × 22 mm adjacent to the right anterior chest wall. At surgery, the tumor was found to adhere to the diaphragm and right lung, contiguous with the mediastinal fat tissue. Histology of the resected specimen demonstrated proliferation of spindle and sarcomatous cells with multinucleated giant cells. Thus the tumor was diagnosed as undifferentiated thymic carcinoma and was considered to have arisen from ectopic thymic tissue. At 2 years postoperatively, the patient had no evidence of recurrence.
Exclusion and reappropriation: Experiences of contemporary enclosure among children in three East Anglian schools
Authors: Irvine Richard DG , Lee Elsa , Strubel Miranda , Bodenhorn Barbara
Published: April 2016

Transformations of the landscapes which children inhabit have significant impacts on their lives; yet, due to the limited economic visibility of children’s relationships with place, they have little stake in those transformations. Their experience, therefore, illustrates in an acute way the experience of contemporary enclosure as a mode of subordination. Following fieldwork in three primary schools in South Cambridgeshire, UK, we offer an ethnographic account of children’s experiences of socio-spatial exclusion. Yet, we suggest that such exclusion is by no means an end-point in children’s relationships with place. Challenging assumptions that children are disconnected from nature, we argue that through play and imaginative exploration of their environments, children find ways to rebuild relationships with places from which they find themselves excluded.
First Dutch guidelines on lipedema using the international classification of functioning, disability and health
Authors: Halk Anne B , Damstra Robert J
Published: April 2016

Introduction

Lipedema is a chronic, progressive condition that can result in considerable disability. In 2011, the Dutch Society of Dermatology and Venereology organized a task force to create guidelines on lipedema, using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health of the World Health Organization.

Guideline development

Clinical questions on significant issues in lipedema care were proposed, involving (1) making the diagnosis of lipedema; (2) clinimetric measurements for early detection and adequate follow-up; and (3) treatment. A systematic review of literature published up to June 2013 was conducted. Based on available evidence and experience of the task force, answers were formed and recommendations were stated. The guidelines define criteria to make a medical diagnosis of lipedema, a minimum data set of (repeated) clinical measurements that should be used to ensure early detection and an individually outlined follow-up plan, pillars on which conservative treatment should be based and recommendations on surgical treatment options.

Conclusions

Little consistent information concerning either diagnostics or therapy can be found in the literature. It is likely that lipedema is frequently misdiagnosed or wrongly diagnosed as only an aesthetic problem and therefore under- or mis-treated. Treatment is divided into conservative and chirurgic treatment. The only available technique to correct the abnormal adipose tissue is surgery.

Recommendations

To ensure early detection and an individually outlined follow-up, the committee advises the use of a minimum data set of (repeated) measurements of waist circumference, circumference of involved limbs, body mass index and scoring of the level of daily practice and psychosocial distress. Promotion of a healthy lifestyle with individually adjusted weight control measures, graded activity training programs, edema reduction, and other supportive measures are pillars of conservative therapy. Tumescent liposuction is the treatment of choice for patients with a suitable health profile and/or inadequate response to conservative and supportive measures.
Visual-spatial sequence learning and memory in trained musicians
Authors: Anaya Esperanza M , Pisoni David B , Kronenberger William G
Published: April 2016

Previous research has shown that musicians have enhanced visual-spatial abilities and sensory-motor skills. As a result of their long-term musical training and their experience-dependent activities, musicians may learn to associate sensory information with fine motor movements. Playing a musical instrument requires musicians to rapidly translate musical symbols into specific sensory-motor actions while also simultaneously monitoring the auditory signals produced by their instrument. In this study, we assessed the visual-spatial sequence learning and memory abilities of long-term musicians. We recruited 24 highly trained musicians and 24 nonmusicians, individuals with little or no musical training experience. Participants completed a visual-spatial sequence learning task as well as receptive vocabulary, nonverbal reasoning, and short-term memory tasks. Results revealed that musicians have enhanced visual-spatial sequence learning abilities relative to nonmusicians. Musicians also performed better than nonmusicians on the vocabulary and nonverbal reasoning measures. Additional analyses revealed that the large group difference observed on the visual-spatial sequencing task between musicians and nonmusicians remained even after controlling for vocabulary, nonverbal reasoning, and short-term memory abilities. Musicians’ improved visual-spatial sequence learning may stem from basic underlying differences in visual-spatial and sensory-motor skills resulting from long-term experience and activities associated with playing a musical instrument.
Controls of a flywheel in a wind turbine rotor
Authors: Jauch Clemens
Published: April 2016

In this article, the control strategy for a previously proposed flywheel system that is integrated in a wind turbine rotor is presented. This control strategy allows the flywheel system to serve two purposes: support of the frequency in the grid and mechanical load mitigation in the wind turbine. For the first purpose, extra energy is fed into the grid whenever there is a contingency; alternatively, the varying power output from the wind turbine can be stabilized. For the latter purpose, the flywheel is applied to detune the eigenfrequency of the most vibratory components in a wind turbine, that is, the rotor blades. Simulations are shown to illustrate the principle and the performance of the proposed system. It is concluded that the controls of the flywheel system manage to support the grid frequency and also mitigate mechanical vibrations in different operating points of the wind turbine.
Desegregation Policy as Social Justice Leadership?: The Case for Critical Consciousness and Racial Literacy
Authors: Radd Sharon I. , Grosland Tanetha J.
Published: April 2016

Policy making can be viewed as a large-scale attempt at social justice leadership intended to address vast inequities that persist and are perpetuated in the U.S. K-12 education system. The study examines the text of the Minnesota Desegregation Rule to discern its underlying discourses as they relate to race, racism, and social justice. The findings highlight discursive practices that undermine social justice progress and antiracist efforts, demonstrating how well-intended social justice efforts can go awry without active engagement of critical lenses. The article argues that critical consciousness and racial literacy are essential in social justice and antiracist policy making and educational leadership.
A Stewardship Cost Perspective on the Governance of Delegation Relationships
Authors: Krzeminska Anna , Zeyen Anica
Published: April 2016

We explore how nonprofits can effectively govern delegation relationships. We extend stewardship theory by conceptualizing stewardship costs—costs in delegation relationships based on stewardship behavior. As stewards are theorized as other-regarding, self-actualizing, and intrinsically motivated, so far, literature almost exclusively points to the positive performance potential of stewardship behavior. Addressing this shortcoming, we develop propositions showing how stewardship selection costs rooted in the psychological characteristics of stewardship behavior and stewardship management costs rooted in situational factors of stewardship behavior occur during relationship formation and maintenance, and how they counteract the potential to increase performance. We identify and systematize opportunity costs of delayed growth, limited growth potential, and lost standardization gains, as well as increased selection and management costs. To demonstrate the theoretical potential and empirical relevance of our framework, we illustrate our arguments by referring to social franchising, a scaling strategy considered relevant for nonprofits as well as social enterprises.
State categories and labour protest: migrant workers and the fight for legal status in France
Authors: Barron Pierre , Bory Anne , Chauvin Sébastien , Jounin Nicolas , Tourette Lucie
Published: April 2016

Through a historic wave of strikes, France’s sans-papiers (immigrants without papers) became known as ‘ sans-papier workers’ and renewed their fight for legal status. The state instituted employment-based regularization and unions embraced migrant workers’ access to legal status as a labour issue. Following Bourdieu and Boltanski, this article traces the institutional genesis and political trajectory of the ‘sans-papier worker’ as symbolic category and objective group, highlighting its agonistic coproduction by state policy and union strategy. The study relies on a three-year collective ethnography including participant observation, archive collection and over a hundred interviews with migrant workers, union activists, employers and civil servants. Whereas the new framing initially uncovered the reality of undocumented migrants at work, it gradually became an exclusive category that sorted ‘workers’ from the others. Ultimately, the fight for ‘ sans-papier workers’ confronted labour organizations and the state with the question of when one starts and stops being a worker.
The Strange Work of Dying
Authors: Parsons Susan
Published: April 2016

This article examines the strange and special character of the work of dying manifest in Christian faith. As a discipline of thinking, ethics arises in response to the transience of life as a way of securing the future, both lending its support to technological interventions and at the same time prompting a new kind of question concerning ‘for what’ something should be done. Christian faith arising from the death and resurrection of the Son of God lives from out of another possibility—that in receiving God’s love, the human soul may be turned from out of death into a future life in the divine presence.
Apostles of Suicide: Theological Precedent for Christian Support of ‘Assisted Dying’
Authors: Jones David Albert
Published: April 2016

This article examines the claim of Paul Badham that there is theological precedent for ‘a Christian case for assisted dying’. The writings of Rev. William Inge and Joseph Fletcher do indeed advocate forms of assisted dying. However, this precedent is deeply problematic for its ugly attitude towards people with disabilities.
A cross-entropy-based approach for joint process plan selection and scheduling optimization
Authors: Lv Shengping , Liu Wei
Published: April 2016

The process plan selection and job shop scheduling are carried out separately and sequentially in many factories and the scheduling is always conducted after the process plan of each job has been determined. In fact, the activities for the determination of process plan and the scheduling plan are coupled with each other and actually complementary. Implementation of the two activities with an appropriate collaborative approach is essential to achieve greater performance and higher productivity for the manufacturing system. In this article, a novel cross-entropy-based approach for the joint process plan selection and scheduling optimization that can assist process planning and scheduling system to achieve optimal scheduling plan and determine the operations, machine for each operation and operation sequence for each job collaboratively was proposed. In order to facilitate the manipulation and improve the optimized performance of the approach, an efficient representation scheme and a generation method for samples were developed. Meanwhile, the updating mechanism for new introduced probability distribution parameters according to which the cross-entropy procedure generates samples was established. To verify the adaptability and performance of the proposed approach, experimental studies were conducted and comparisons were made between this approach and some previous methods. The experimental results indicate that the proposed approach is an alternative and acceptable method to solve the joint process plan selection and scheduling optimization problem.
Models of Affective Decision Making
Authors: Charpentier Caroline J. , De Neve Jan-Emmanuel , Li Xinyi , Roiser Jonathan P. , Sharot Tali
Published: April 2016

Intuitively, how you feel about potential outcomes will determine your decisions. Indeed, an implicit assumption in one of the most influential theories in psychology, prospect theory, is that feelings govern choice. Surprisingly, however, very little is known about the rules by which feelings are transformed into decisions. Here, we specified a computational model that used feelings to predict choices. We found that this model predicted choice better than existing value-based models, showing a unique contribution of feelings to decisions, over and above value. Similar to the value function in prospect theory, our feeling function showed diminished sensitivity to outcomes as value increased. However, loss aversion in choice was explained by an asymmetry in how feelings about losses and gains were weighted when making a decision, not by an asymmetry in the feelings themselves. The results provide new insights into how feelings are utilized to reach a decision.
Assessment of RES technology market values and the merit-order effect – an econometric multi-country analysis
Authors: Welisch Marijke , Ortner André , Resch Gustav
Published: April 2016

This study presents an assessment of both the merit-order effect and the market values of electricity generated from variable renewable energy sources, namely wind and solar photovoltaics. The historical price development in several European countries – that cover 73% of the renewable energy source share in Europe’s regional electricity markets – has been taken into account. To gain insights into the impact of renewable electricity on prices, market values and the merit-order effect were calculated using a multivariate regression analysis and ex-post calculations. All the countries analyzed show a consistent, negative impact of renewable electricity on electricity spot market prices and a decreasing market value of renewable energy source, possibly attributable to increased shares. The coefficients are economically and statistically significant. This study provides insights into a large geographical spread of European electricity markets, enables a comparison between countries, and therefore has valuable implications for policy makers.
“And yet your duty is to hope”: The positive psychology of Jean-Paul Sartre
Authors: Quackenbush Steven W. , Lockwood Alanah K. , Cyr Travis G.
Published: April 2016

In this article, we consider the potential relevance of the philosophy of Jean-Paul Sartre to the positive psychology movement. Specifically, we argue that Sartre’s consideration of freedom as the “foundation of all values” can be read as a defense of generosity as the cardinal psychosocial virtue. For Sartre, authentic existence is not simply a quest to realize subjective well-being or to acquire a collection of conventional virtues and character strengths. Rather, authenticity is most appropriately understood as a life (holistically conceived) offering itself as a gift to the Other—a freedom realizing its humanity by nurturing other freedoms. Practical implications of Sartrean thought are considered, with special attention given to “gratitude” as an erstwhile character strength that potentially undermines the quest for freedom.
Stop waiting! Hegemonic and alternative scripts of single women’s subjectivity
Authors: Lahad Kinneret
Published: April 2016

The present article argues that despite growing rates of single living worldwide, alternative representations of the single women who do not necessarily spend their life ‘waiting for the one’ are regularly absent from public view. By exploring the injunction as well as the option of non-waiting, this paper contributes to time studies by stressing how understandings of waiting inform hegemonic and alternative forms of temporal subjectivity and sociality. In the first part of this paper, I explore the ways in which the injunction to stop waiting is articulated in heteronormative imagery. This call is regularly expressed with temporal urgency, and from this vantage point waiting comes to represent passivity and immobility. Accordingly, women are expected to ‘move on’ and be active in their own self-governance, which adapts to conventional norms of femininity. In the second part of this article, I demonstrate how the option of non-waiting dismantles and reworks heteronormative life scripts, and offers new subject positions for single women. These reflections propose alternative timetables that allow single women to reclaim their temporal agency and re-define their own temporal rhythms and life trajectories.
Estimating Demand Using Space Elastic Demand Model for Retail Assortment Planning
Authors: Singh Alok Kumar , Kapoor Rohit
Published: April 2016

A retailer assortment is defined as a mix of products stocked in a retail store. The identification of proper assortment has become difficult in the current consumer-centric environment. Assortment planning (AP) in a retail chain largely depends on the estimation of demand of various products under consideration. The knowledge of the true demand rates and substitution rates is important for a retailer for a variety of management decisions, such as the ideal assortment to carry, the quantum of each item to be stocked and how often to replenish the stock (Anupindi, Dada & Gupta, 1998).

Space elastic demand model is one of the models which have been widely used for demand estimation in retail AP literature. However, there is paucity of empirical studies in this field of research. In this article, the demand has been estimated using space elastic demand model for two product categories comprising 11 products within the category. The study illustrates the methodology for estimation of demand using space elastic demand model. The results obtained are consistent with the results obtained in few of the empirical studies done in other contexts.
Summarizing Factors of Customer Experience and Building a Structural Model Using Total Interpretive Structural Modelling Technology
Authors: Sharma Meenakshi , Tiwari Prakash , Chaubey D.S.
Published: April 2016

This article adopts the customer experience framework to find out how customer experience shapes customer satisfaction in the retail banking services. An empirical model using Total Interpretive Structural Modelling (TISM) technology is developed to summarize the factors of customer experience and to find the relationships and interrelationships of these factors which further leads to customer satisfaction. The results suggest that customer experience is driven by 14 factors: convenience, customer interaction, servicescape, employee’s attitude, online functional elements, presence of other customers, online hedonic elements, customization, core service, value addition, speed, marketing mix, service process and online aesthetics. In addition, the findings suggest that these factors directly or indirectly lead to customer satisfaction which further helps in building customer trust and customer loyalty. The article ends with a discussion of the managerial implications and future research directions.
A rapid cycleave PCR method for distinguishing the vaccine strain Brucella abortus A19 in China
Authors: Nan Wenlong , Zhang Yueyong , Tan Pengfei , Xu Zouliang , Chen Yuqi , Mao Kairong , Chen Yiping
Published: April 2016

Brucellosis is a widespread zoonotic disease caused by Brucella spp. Immunization with attenuated vaccines has proved to be an effective method of prevention; however, it may also interfere with diagnosis. Brucella abortus strain A19, which is homologous to B. abortus strain S19, is widely used for the prevention of bovine brucellosis in China. For effective monitoring of the control of brucellosis, it is essential to distinguish A19 from field strains. Single-nucleotide polymorphism–based assays offer a new approach to such discrimination studies. In the current study, we developed a cycleave PCR assay that successfully distinguished attenuated vaccine strains A19 and S19 from 22 strains of B. abortus and 57 strains of 5 other Brucella species. The assay gave a negative reaction with 4 non- Brucella species. The minimum sensitivity of the assay, evaluated using 10-fold dilutions of chromosomal DNA, was 7.6 fg for the A19 strain and 220 fg for the single non-A19/non-S19 Brucella strain tested ( B. abortus 104M). The assay was also reproducible (intra- and interassay coefficients of variation: 0.003–0.01 and 0.004–0.025, respectively). The cycleave assay gave an A19/S19-specific reaction in 3 out of 125 field serum samples, with the same 3 samples being positive in an alternative A19/S19-specific molecular assay. The cycleave assay gave a total of 102 Brucella-specific reactions (3 being the A19/S19-specific reactions), whereas an alternative Brucella-specific assay gave 92 positive reactions (all also positive in the cycleave assay). Therefore, this assay represents a simple, rapid, sensitive, and specific tool for use in brucellosis control.
Bovine mastitis outbreak in Japan caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus New York/Japan clone
Authors: Hata Eiji
Published: April 2016

Many methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains are multidrug-resistant; consequently, infectious diseases involving MRSA are recognized as troublesome diseases not only in human health care but also in animal health care. A bovine mastitis case caused by MRSA isolates of the New York/Japan clone (NJC), which occurred in Japan in 2005, was monitored in the current study. Isolates of the NJC are typical of hospital-acquired MRSA in Japan. The genetic backgrounds of these strains differ from those of bovine-associated S. aureus, which are typically of clonal complex (CC)97, CC705, and CC133. Moreover, the NJC isolates in this bovine outbreak possessed a β-hemolysin–converting bacteriophage and an immune evasion cluster, as found in the NJC isolates from humans, so it is possible that this clone was introduced into the dairy herd by a human carrier. Most bovine intramammary infections (IMIs) caused by the NJC isolates in our study were asymptomatic, and obvious clinical signs were recognized in only the first 3 infected cows. Of a total of 78 cows, 31 cows were MRSA carriers, and these carrier cows were detected by testing the milk of all lactating cows at 1-month intervals. These S. aureus carrier cows were culled or the infected quarter was dried off and no longer milked. Both IMI and mastitis caused by MRSA were completely eradicated after 5 months. Genotyping data suggested that exchanging of the staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (the determining factor in methicillin resistance) occurred easily between MRSA and methicillin-sensitive S. aureus in the udders of carrier cows. This case study demonstrates an effective procedure against the spread of MRSA in a dairy herd, and highlights the risk of emergence of new MRSA strains in a dairy herd.
Building Simulation Game-Based Teaching Program for Secondary School Students
Authors: Wardaszko Marcin
Published: April 2016

Background.Business simulations are being played by a growing number of students. One potential scope for their implementation is the introduction of game-based programs at an early stage of the education ladder. Teaching programs with computer-aided simulations are new tools addressed to both secondary school teachers and students.

Aim. This article describes a secondary school program supported by a business simulation game. The program was designed to teach students fundamental knowledge in the fields of economics and business.

Methodology. The article gives insight into the design process and the final product of this teaching and learning program. Demand modeling, econometric decision modeling sample, insights into game scenario design, and the teaching program material offer a broad picture of the scope and nature of this project.

Results and Recommendations. The project illustrates the process of educational game design in a setting of many limitations. Application of user-centered design and flow methodologies was helpful in designing and implementing this game into a teaching program for secondary school students. The students benefit from an optimal experience owing to a goal-oriented, evolutionary model of demand and costs developed for the purpose of implementation of the project.
The Student as Teacher Educator in Service-Learning
Authors: Barnes Meghan E.
Published: April 2016

To prepare preservice teachers (PSTs) to work with diverse populations of PreK-12 students, teacher educators are incorporating a variety of field-based experiences into teacher preparation. Service-learning courses can provide PSTs with additional field experiences beyond formal student teaching. This study is concerned with the experiences of a group of undergraduate PSTs as they tutor in an alternative school as part of a service-learning course. To make sense of their experiences at the alternative school, these PSTs compared their own PreK-12 experiences and those of the students they tutored. In this study, the students at the alternative school served as the most influential contributors to PSTs’ developing conceptions of teaching and of schools—a finding that has implications for teacher preparation.
Impact of Squamous Differentiation in Breast Carcinoma
Authors: Pai Trupti , Shet Tanuja , Desai Sangeeta , Patil Asawari , Nair Nita , Parmar Vani , Gupta Sudeep , Budrukkar Ashwini , Sarin Rajiv , Badwe Rajendra
Published: April 2016

This study attempted to review the impact of extent of squamous differentiation in 56 infiltrating duct carcinomas (IDC) with squamous differentiation (metaplastic squamous carcinomas [MSC]). Tumors showing 100% squamous elements were labeled as primary squamous carcinomas (PSC; n = 28) and compared with 28 MSC showing lesser squamous components. A clinicopathological comparison revealed that lymphovascular emboli were never seen in any PSC but were noted in 7/28 of other MSC, while perineural invasion was seen only in PSC and not in MSC. Nodal metastasis was significantly more in other MSC as opposed to PSC. Most MSC presented with 2- to 5-cm sized tumors while PSC were 5 to 10 cm in size. PSC showed cystic change while MSC did not. Disease free survival (DFS) for MSC versus PSC was 64% versus 39.8%, while overall survival (OAS) was 72.7% in MSC versus 66.7% in PSC. Tumor stage affected DFS in MSC while none of the factors affected DFS/OAS in PSC. The extent of squamous differentiation affected DFS with best behavior for metaplastic carcinomas showing <40% squamous elements and worse for those with >90% squamous component ( P = .024). PSC of breast is an aggressive disease and show distinct clinicopathological features from other MSC, and though the current definition of MSC does not advocate quantifying the squamous element, clearly this affects prognosis.
What Is Nonconsensual Sex? Young Women Identify Sources of Coerced Sex
Authors: French Bryana H. , Neville Helen A.
Published: April 2016

Extending the American Psychological Association (APA) report on the Sexualization of Girls, this study investigated how young women identified sources of coerced sex. Findings from three focus groups with 25 Black and White adolescent women uncovered a perceived overarching force that “pushed” them to have sex before they felt ready. Participants identified four domains of coerced sex: (a) Sociocultural Context, (b) Internalized Sexual Scripts, (c) Partner Manipulation of Sexual Scripts, and (d) Developmental Status. Coerced sex was a complex system consisting of cultural, peer, and internal messages that create pressures to engage in sexual activities. Future implications for research and practice are presented.
Detecting Autism Spectrum Disorder in Children With ADHD and Social Disability
Authors: Øien Roald A. , Siper Paige , Kolevzon Alexander , Grodberg David
Published: April 2016

Objective: The social disability associated with ADHD often makes diagnostic and treatment decision making challenging. This protocol investigates the test performance of the Autism Mental Status Exam (AMSE) in detecting autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in a sample of 45 children with ADHD and ASD symptomatology. The AMSE is a brief ASD diagnostic assessment administered in the context of a clinical exam. Method: All participants received a developmental evaluation, including the AMSE, followed by independent gold standard diagnostic assessments including the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) and the Autism Diagnostic Interview–Revised (ADI-R). Results: Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis indicated strong sensitivity and specificity in this population. Optimal cutoff scores are provided. Conclusion: The AMSE holds promise as a brief ASD assessment tool for children with ADHD and ASD symptomatology and as a guide for treatment and referral decisions at the point of care.