bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Women’s Empowerment through Social Theatre: A Case Study
Authors: Dutta Madhura
Published: May 2015

The use of theatre beyond entertainment as a participatory development communication tool emerged in the 1960s in parallel with alternative and post-development theories. Social theatre, where social development is given more importance than aesthetics, evolved into a strategy for community empowerment. ‘Theatre of the Oppressed’ using Forum Theatre, designed by Augusto Boal, one of the pioneers of social theatre, has been adapted by Jana Sanskriti, a West Bengal based organization of theatre activism, to bring about community-led action for social change at the grass roots. The empowerment of women has been a major focus, as severe patriarchal exploitation in these areas has curtailed their basic human rights. This article studies whether and how social theatre empowers the rural marginalized women of the South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal to organize themselves through theatre based activism and negotiate for their rights.
The Empirical Relationship between Dividend and Investment
Authors: Bhaduri Saumitra N.
Published: May 2015

The article studies the determinants of two important decisions for the Indian firms—dividend and investment. In contrast to the Miller and Modigliani (1961) model, in which dividend decision is separable from its investment decision, the article finds evidence to support the argument that Indian firms adjust their dividends to accommodate investment, as proffered by Myers’ pecking order model (1984). Interestingly, the article also finds evidence in favour of the proposition that firms adjust their investment decision to accommodate dividends as well. Further, as observed in the literature, the results presented in the article are also consistent with the Lintner (1956) model which predicts that dividends move consistently towards target payouts. However, in contrast to Lintner’s single factor (i.e., earnings) target payout model, we find evidence in favour of multiple factors, such as, agency conflict, asymmetry of information and growth factors, to influence the optimal dividend decision.
Assessing the sociology of sport: On Western hegemony and alternative discourses
Authors: Thompson Lee
Published: May 2015

On the 50th anniversary of the ISSA and IRSS, Lee Thompson, a key foundational scholar in the development of the sociology of sport in Japan, whose work has helped bridge understandings from the West, considers the distinctive character of socio-cultural inquiry about sport in Japan. In assessing the trajectory of the field in Japan, Thompson notes that Japan has not been one of the ‘social science powers’ and that its theoretical and methodological lenses were often reliant on strategies developed in the West. In addition, the influence of Japanese scholarship in the field has been stifled because of limited dissemination in outlets publishing in the English language. A key challenge is for the theoretical and geographic range of research published in Japanese scholarly outlets to be mirrored in the breadth of work published by Japanese scholars in English language outlets: with the increased demands of globalization and neo-liberal reforms, there are increased pressures to publish in international (English language) journals. In looking to the future, the dangers of ‘Western hegemony’ in publication standards and the tensions in giving standing to particularized Asia-centered alternative discourses are discussed.
Assessing the sociology of sport: On the hopes and fears for the sociology of sport in the US
Authors: Andrews David L
Published: May 2015

On the 50th anniversary of the ISSA and IRSS, David Andrews, a foundational scholar in the cultural and critical study of sport, considers his hopes and fears for the development of the sociology of sport in the US. Reflecting on the field’s trajectory, Andrews notes growth, diverse scholarly outlets, seemingly unresolvable “tussles” between structural functionalist and conflict theory approaches, increasing “sports creep” across culture, and the broadening of the sociology of sport beyond the “sociological” in a traditional sense. A key challenge for sport sociologists is the tendency to operate in perilous isolation in their disciplinary homes; a related challenge comes from its common seating in kinesiology as it has emerged as a de facto science of physical activity. In looking ahead, Andrews sees the sociology of sport in the US at a crossroads where impressive levels of research productivity may mask the field’s increasing marginalization. The present situation calls for a broad stocktaking of the sociology of sport as a project and new tactics for internal and cross-disciplinary dialogues that will help reimagine and situate the field.
Assessing the sociology of sport: On public sociology of sport and research that makes a difference
Authors: Donnelly Peter
Published: May 2015

On the 50th anniversary of the ISSA and IRSS, one of the most influential scholars linking the sociology of sport to policy and social change, Peter Donnelly, considers the prospects for a nexus meshing public intellectualism with the doing of research. Noted in considering the trajectory of the field was an early absence of the sociologist as partisan and the staking of positions that make clear “whose side we are on.” While the critical turn in the sociology of sport has grounded its calling more clearly, challenges remain for the field to be taken seriously, and a key to advancing this is to quicken the pace for sociological knowledge about sport to “filter down” to public knowledge and play a role in influencing policy changes that can help make sport a more equitable and humane place. In considering the future of the field, Donnelly notes the inherently practical value underlying sociological knowledge and calls for sociologists of sport to engage Piketty’s call for public engagement in a way that can make a difference in how people experience sport.
Assessing the sociology of sport: On culture and political economy
Authors: Manzenreiter Wolfram
Published: May 2015

On the 50th anniversary of the ISSA and IRSS, an influential scholar in the study of sport and nation, Wolfram Manzenreiter, argues in favor of a combination of micro- and macro-sociological approaches to further our understanding of sport as a universal – or anthropogenic – expression and global institution. In his assessment, the hegemonic power of the Western bloc is noted whereby Western cultural sensibilities have been transformed into universal principles about the value and framing of sport. While the emergence of globalization theory has significantly altered the formerly biased view on the spread of sport as a manifestation of societal development, a key challenge to any sociological rendering of sport remains seated in ongoing tendencies to embrace methodological nationalism and a constructionist view on mankind and culture. In considering the future, Manzenreiter notes that any attempt to de-center the study of sport faces untangling the tensions between nationalism and globalization while at the same time coming to grips with universal understandings in the face of particularized historical and cultural sensibilities.
Assessing the sociology of sport: On gender identities in motion and how to de-essentialize difference(s)
Authors: Martín Montserrat
Published: May 2015

On the 50th anniversary of the ISSA and IRSS, one of the leading Spanish scholars on gender and sport, Montserrat Martín, considers research on how entrenched gender identities empower males and marginalize females. In assessing the trajectory of research, it is noted that work in the sociology of sport has challenged and facilitated change in understanding gender identities with emphasis on both the “multiplicities of difference” and on “shared affinities” in the construction of gender. A continuing challenge has been to get past entrenched gender binaries; it is suggested that more sophisticated intersectional understandings, about men–women, gay–straight, people of colour and not, are needed, not only to blur boundaries, but in the process to reinvent understandings about our gendered identities. A key challenge for the future is to provide examples and analysis through which it is possible to show how sport, instead of reproducing the inertia and stability of social gender identities, blurs the borders and hierarchies between and within each of them.
Assessing the sociology of sport: On the capacities and limits of using sport to promote social change
Authors: Sugden John
Published: May 2015

On the 50th anniversary of the ISSA and IRSS, former IRSS Editor John Sugden, one of the foremost scholars to advance a critical sociology of sport and to apply its tenets to Sport for Development (SDP) programmes, reflects on a key question about how the sociology of sport has and can inform social and political activism that engages sport. Noting a ‘new orthodoxy that dominates the SDP sector’, there is a pressing need for a more critical sociology of sport in engaging strategies, and understanding the limits, of sport in the service of conflict reduction and peace making in divided societies. Building on the tenets of Wright Mills and his notion of ‘the sociological imagination’ and the work of Brewer connecting it to the ending of violence, Sugden calls on the sociology of sport community to bring critical engagement to the advancement and refinement of using sport as a mechanism to bring about changes in social relations and in the reduction of conflict in divided societies. While it is noted that sport cannot be a panacea for development and conflict reduction, it can play an important role in practical interventions aided by a critical sociology of sport.
Assessing the sociology of sport: On national and ethnocultural communities in Canada
Authors: Dallaire Christine
Published: May 2015

On the 50th anniversary of the ISSA and IRSS, a leading Canadian scholar on sport, identities, and community, Christine Dallaire, considers the dynamic role of sport in reproducing national and ethnocultural communities in Canada. A diverse research agenda grew, merging considerations of not only the trajectory of Canada as a nation, but the meshing of immigrant and new national identities and the role of First Nations communities on the sport landscape. Noting the constant interaction and opposition among communities with different self-determination, ethnocultural and national aims, an ongoing challenge in sociological work about the roles of sport resides in reaching nuanced understandings of differing identity narratives that circulate and that are reinvented through sport. Future research will need to focus on the complexities of “Canadianness” in sporting identities and how the reproduction of contested ethnocultural and national identities are cast and understood in stories about differentiated, racialized, and gendered sport heroes.
Assessing the sociology of sport: On the mediasport interpellation and commodity narratives
Authors: Wenner Lawrence A
Published: May 2015

On the 50th anniversary of the ISSA and IRSS, Lawrence A Wenner, Editor-in-Chief of the IRSS and a key foundational scholar of media and sport, considers how the study of media in the sociology of sport is “unavoidable” as media is central to how sport is framed, understood, enacted, and transacted. The early reluctance to study mediated sport is traced to disciplinary challenges in both physical education and communication studies. These challenges were overcome by the rise of British cultural studies and concerns over agency in the study of “money and power” and “framing and identities” as central to inquiry. Key challenges for the study of media and sport are fueled by the need to go beyond textual analysis, to recognize the “dirtiness” of sport narratives, and interrogate the dynamic of inherently commodified logics. Posing the lasting power of the “mediasport interpellation” as a form of address anchored in gender, fan, and consumer identities, it is argued that new media will encounter embedded cultural logics about sport as obstacles to change.
Bad Character and the Law Commission
Authors: Mirfield Peter
Published: May 2015

Report No. 273 of the Law Commission for England and Wales proposes a new scheme for the law relating to evidence of bad character in criminal trials, and no less in the case of witnesses other than the accused than in the case of the accused himself. This article broadly welcomes the governing general principles of the proposed scheme, whilst challenging the soundness of some of the terminology recommended by the Commission, as well as its conclusions on some important, albeit more specific issues.
Improving the Disclosure Regime
Authors: Ormerod David
Published: May 2015

This article examines the deficiencies of the existing disclosure regime in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and in particular those in relation to cases involving covert surveillance. It considers the merits of claims for wider disclosure, reviews reform proposals on disclosure in the Criminal Justice Bill 2002, and considers how further improvements might be made.
Court Scrutiny of Expert Evidence: Recent Decisions Highlight the Tensions
Authors: O'Brian William E.
Published: May 2015

Recent decisions of the Courts of Appeal in England and Northern Ireland in Dallagher and O'Doherty highlight the risks of error which flow from the current lax standards of English law relating to the admission of expert evidence. Notwithstanding that in both decisions, the court purported to apply the same principles, an analysis of these cases indicates tensions in the law, and adds support to calls for the adoption of a stricter test for the admission of expert evidence.
Diffusion factors of street canyon pollutants in the cold winter of Xi’an city based on back propagation neural network analysis
Authors: Wang Qiong , Wang Yi , Zhao Jingyuan , Bai Chunxia
Published: May 2015

The factors affecting pollutant diffusion in street canyons during the cold winter of Xi’an City, China, were analysed by measuring the near-surface atmospheric parameters at the height of 1.5 m from ground surface and the aspect ratios (ARs) of 40 street canyons. SPSS software was adopted to obtain eight multiple regression models, including the city street locations, street orientations and street widths. A back propagation neural network was employed to obtain the weight of the factors and their sensitivities. The near-surface atmospheric parameters, leaf area index (LAI) and street canyon AR in the pedestrian area could have an effect on the pollution in street canyons. CO diffusion is strongly influenced by near-surface atmospheric parameters, such as wind velocity, air temperature and relative humidity (RH), together with the CO emission source intensity, street canyon AR and LAI. Their weights were 0.360, 0.275, 0.137, 0.113, 0.068 and 0.047. In particular, near-surface atmospheric parameters were shown to be affected by the street orientation in the city.
Pancreatico duodenectomy for pediatric combined duodenal, pancreatic and biliary trauma
Authors: Chandrasekaran Aravindan
Published: May 2015

Pancreaticoduodenal trauma in children is uncommon but carries high morbidity and mortality rates, especially when the diagnosis is delayed. A case of combined pancreatico duodenal and bile duct injury following blunt abdominal trauma is described which presented two days after injury. It highlights the extremes of surgical procedures that may be needed in massive blunt trauma.
Child Witness Investigative Interviews: An Analysis of the Use of Children's Video-Recorded Evidence in North Yorkshire
Authors: Cherryman Julie , King Nigel , Bull Ray
Published: May 2015

Since the 1992 onset in England and Wales of video-recorded investigative interviews with children for possible use in criminal proceedings, there have been claims that far too many such interviews are being recorded. Indeed, debate about the usefulness of video-recorded interviews centres on the argument that only a few of the many interviews with children which have been recorded on video are used either in criminal courts or, indeed, anywhere else. This paper examines the number and outcome of the video-recorded interviews which were conducted between 1993 and 1996 by the North Yorkshire Police Family Protection Unit (South). Some time after having a video-recorded interview with a child witness/victim the police officer involved in the case completed a questionnaire, the results of which were collated. The results suggest that interviews with children provide useful evidential material and are, in fact, being used.

This paper relates only to records kept by the police and not social services. It is not the intention to disregard the process of joint investigation or, indeed, to ignore the importance of the role of social services in the video-recorded interviews referred to in this paper.
Neighbourhood Watch Programmes in Taiwan: Police Attitudes, Crime Rate and Community Support
Authors: Lee Lou-Jou , Cheurprakobkit Sutham , Denq Furjen
Published: May 2015

This paper evaluates the impact of neighbourhood watch programmes (NWPs) on the 14 police precincts of the Taipei Metropolitan Police Department with regard to the following areas: crime rate; 911 emergency calls; citizen feeling of safety; community support; crime prevention and police-community relations. The paper examines the effects of four independent variables which include the number of NWPs in each police precinct, the precinct characteristics, officers' participation in NWPs and officers' degree of support for NWPs. Using data collected from the official data and a survey of 1,631 Taiwanese officers, the authors employed ordinary least square (OLS) regression and found that officers believed that NWPs can reduce drug, juvenile and total crimes. Regression results of the official data show that the numbers of NWPs were negatively related to drug and juvenile crimes but were positively related to burglary and the number of 911 emergency calls. However, the implementation of NWPs did not significantly affect violent crime, minor crime, robbery and total crime. This paper concludes that policies regarding NWPs in Taiwan must be consistent with the theoretical principles and values of community policing philosophy and that there is a need for more research concerning the citizen and police administrator perspectives.
Cooperative Interagency Approaches to the Illegal Drug Problem
Authors: Monge Peter , Fulk Janet , Parnassa Claire , Flanagin Andrew , Rumsey Suzanne , Kalman Michael
Published: May 2015

Recent advances in law enforcement recognise that, increasingly, more types of crime have migrated across localities and even nations. Law enforcement requires the combined efforts of disparate agencies that must cooperate across organisational and jurisdictional boundaries. Nowhere is this trend more evident than in efforts to combat illegal drug trafficking. Recent efforts involve applying new communication and information technologies to assist the agencies to pool their talents and information in order to attack their common problems more efficiently and effectively. This paper is a case study of such a multi-agency alliance. It describes the two formative phases of the alliance: negotiation and commitment. The paper recounts several potential barriers to the formation of multi-agency alliances, including agency diversity, resource limitations and disincentives to collaboration. The paper also identifies critical factors for the successful formation of alliances, including common goals, facilitative structural mechanisms, broad participation and external support.
The Terminology of Dangerous Events: Implications for Key Decision Maker Training
Authors: Borodzicz Edward P.
Published: May 2015

This paper is based on the author's recent PhD research. The research used an anthropological style of ethnographic enquiry in order to understand and facilitate training for the principal emergency services. The research focused on the management roles of key decision makers, particularly in the context of multi-service response to crisis.

The British emergency services employ highly-structured and acknowledged response models for major incidents. These are usually described as ‘Command and Control’, ‘Gold/Silver and Bronze’, or ‘Tactical, Strategic and Operational’. The paper reports on research which questions the utility of a structured response to crisis events for both real and simulated training situations.

This paper will consider the popular use of terminology relating to the management of dangerous events. Three terms are offered as working conceptual categories for understanding and improving the response to dangerous events: ‘emergency’, ‘crisis' and ‘disaster’. The utility of this distinction is also considered in terms of a clarity of goals for the design of simulation training tools.
Police Officers' Perceptions of Specialist Investigative Interviewing Skills
Authors: Cherryman Julie , Bull Ray
Published: May 2015

Responses to a questionnaire from 81 police officers experienced in specialist investigative interviewing (SII) were content analysed to determine which skills they thought were important in specialist investigative interviewing, and which were present or missing in police officers in general and in themselves. ‘Listening’ was considered to be the most important skill in SII and all of the other skills listed in the questionnaire were described as ‘very important’ or ‘important’. Generally, the officers believed that all of the listed skills could be improved upon, and that ‘preparation’, ‘open-mindedness' and ‘flexibility’ were the skills which were most often missing in police officers who conduct SII (though the officers did not consider these to be missing in themselves).
The Transformation of the Romanian Criminal Justice System
Authors: Doss Marion T. , Bowers Stephen R. , Hanganu Cristina
Published: May 2015

In 1989, Romanian freedom fighters liberated the nation from the yoke of an oppressive dictatorship. As a former communist state, Romania is charting a new course to expanding democracy and a market economy in Eastern Europe. This paper examines the current Romanian criminal justice system in the context of history, geography and government through an examination of the functions and legal framework controlling the three sub-systems (law enforcement, adjudication and corrections) and how youthful offenders are treated. The study finds a need to adopt more fully a systems perspective.
Creating Customer-Centred Organisations: New Business Planning Tools for Australian Police Services
Authors: Tomaino John
Published: May 2015

This paper calls for Australian police services to articulate a strategic declaration or vision of how they would operate (and be viewed by customers) in a genuinely customer-focused environment. Despite claims to be ‘customer focused’, Australian police services have conceptualised customers as a unity rather than an amalgam of discrete groups. Furthermore, police services have not specified the desirable elements of a customer-focused organisation beyond modest corporate statements, nor formulated rigorous indicators of success along the road to achieving customer service excellence. Against the backdrop of a philosophical discussion about the reinvention of communities as customers in corporate planning strategies, some of the broad-level business planning techniques that Australian police services should apply, it is argued, before claiming to be truly ‘customer focused’ are identified. These new planning tools — defining customer segments, competitive positioning and ‘blue-sky’ planning — are introduced as useful techniques to move police organisations from their current position to a desired future position as customer-centred organisations.
Community Policing: Fighting Crime or Fighting Colleagues?
Authors: Fielding Nigel
Published: May 2015

Community policing continues to enjoy much favour as a principal alternative to traditional, law-enforcement-oriented policing. A large body of research suggests, however, that it confronts a range of organisational obstacles. These obstacles arise largely from the endurance of an organisational form developed to support a law-enforcement-oriented approach, and which has engendered both working practices and an occupational culture inhospitable to the pursuit of community policing. Drawing on field research in the London Metropolitan Police and Surrey police forces, the paper identifies key obstacles to the delivery of community policing. It also indicates some of the conditions under which successful community policing can be achieved. These entail both changes in the organisational environment in which community policing is placed, and changes in prevailing conceptions of the nature and role of community policing. In particular, it is argued that community policing needs to move emphatically away from approaches based on community building and ‘outreach’, and towards a construction of community policing based firmly on its role in crime control.
Psychological Trauma in the Police Service
Authors: Plant Barbara
Published: May 2015

Recent literature on psychological or critical incident stress debriefing indicates it may not be as efficacious as originally supposed and that the process in some instances might even be harmful. This paper seeks to contribute to the debate by assessing the position of organisations in relation to trauma and their responsibilities to police employees exposed to traumatic events at work. It refers to the potential cost benefits of an effective strategy, and describes a comprehensive system encompassing selection, preparation, appropriate support, professional care where necessary and organisational action. In light of the lack of evidence of efficacy of psychological debriefing, and the possibility that it may delay recovery and cause harm, an alternative two-stage model for post-trauma management is described to optimise protective strategies within the workplace and to ensure provision of appropriate care.
Polygraphic Examinations in Japan: Application of the Guilty Knowledge Test in Forensic Investigations
Authors: Hira Shinji , Furumitsu Isato
Published: May 2015

There are two main types of psychophysiological detection of deception in Held practice: the guilty knowledge test (GKT) and the control question test (CQT). A survey carried out for members of the American Psychological Association and the Society for Psychophysiological Research proved that many of the members consider that the GKT is superior to the CQT in its validity. Moreover, several experimental studies reported that the GKT produces fewer false positive errors (classifying an innocent suspect as guilty) than the CQT. In spite of these issues, the GKT is used less in North America and there are several researchers who insist that it is inapplicable in real-life criminal investigations. In Japan, however, the GKT has been extensively and successfully used in criminal investigations since the 1950s. Moreover, basic studies of the GKT, such as visual presentations of evidence, an automated diagnostic method by a computer and detecting guilty knowledge by using event-related brain potentials, are actively carried out in many Japanese laboratories to improve the method's reliability. In an effort to encourage the application of the GKT as an effective and scientific method in criminal investigations, this paper describes the status of the GKT in Japan.
The Effect of Repeated Photographic Identification and Time Delay on the Accuracy of the Final Photographic Identification and the Rating of Memory
Authors: Naka Makiko , Itsukushima Yukio , Itoh Yuji , Hara Satoshi
Published: May 2015

In the historically well-known case of Teigin Jiken (the case of Imperial Bank), eyewitnesses were presented with a large number of photos repeatedly, during a six-month investigation, before they finally identified a suspect. In this paper, by partially modelling their study on the investigation after Teigin Jiken, the authors examine the possibly negative effect of repeated photo identification (RPI) and time delay on memory for a face, and subjects' ratings of the state of memory and confidence. Undergraduates participated in a staged event followed by a delay with or without RPI, and then the final photo identification. The results showed a cumulative effect of RPI and time delay. In particular, subjects with RPI were less accurate in the final photo identification, and their ratings of the state of memory and confidence were less calibrated to accuracy.
Singing from the Same Hymn Sheet: The Professionalisation of the Association of Chief Police Officers
Authors: Charman Sarah , Savage Stephen
Published: May 2015

The Association of Chief Police Officers of England, Wales and Northern Ireland (ACPO) represents the most senior tiers of the police service and has, arguably, a primary responsibility for ‘steering’ policing and policing policy under both central and local government (police authority) advice and guidance.

In order to deal more effectively with the challenges of the late 20th century, the police service has been the subject of what is principally an internally driven desire to professionalise. That professionalisation has been aimed at both delivery of service and at the professionalisation of ACPO itself as a policy-making and policy advisory body. This paper focuses on how ACPO has developed organisationally, and on the impact of such change at individual force level. The paper also examines the dilemmas revealed in such developments.
Balancing Public Expectation and Resource Limitations: Policing Services in the 21st Century
Authors: Butler A. J. P.
Published: May 2015

This paper is a revised version of a paper given at the Conference ‘Management Challenges in 21st Century Policing’ Chateau Laurier, Ottawa, Canada, 22nd to 24th September, 1995. The Government's police reform programme has brought change and considerable uncertainty. It has raised some uncertainties in the police service in England and Wales about its future role and the way in which it is going to be judged in the future. The managerial freedom promised by the Government has been constrained and potentially damaged by the application of central direction. In addition, severe financial constraints make evident the future challenges for the senior management of police services.
Caffeine as a Source of Misattribution in Police—Offender Confrontations: An Experiment with the Fire Arms Training System
Authors: Vrij Aldert , Morris Paul
Published: May 2015

An experiment examined the effects of police officers' caffeine consumption on their perception and shooting behaviour during confrontations with offenders. Based upon theories of emotions and attributional processes (Schachter, 1964; Zillmann, 1978, 1983) it was hypothesised that caffeine consumption would lead to an under-estimation of the offender's aggression, less aggressive feelings towards the offender, and decreased willingness to shoot at the offender. Fifty-two police officers in Holland ingested either 150 mg of caffeine or Vitamin C and faced a videotaped Fire Arms Training System simulated scenario. The results supported the hypotheses, and some implications are discussed in this paper.
Comparative Models of Policing and the Role of Women Officers
Authors: Heidensohn Frances
Published: May 2015

This paper considers the importance of comparative international studies of policing, with some key examples. The neglect of the position of female officers in these accounts is noted and, in the rest of the paper, an attempt is made to redress the balance by comparing the key features of the role of women in policing in Australia, Britain and the USA. The need for analytical models to include gender is noted, with some examples of how this might be done, and the explanatory powers of various taxonomies of policewomen's experiences are tested.
The Detection of Dissimulation: Lies, Damned Lies and SVA
Authors: Lucas Rhona , McKenzie Ian K.
Published: May 2015

The identification of lying in both witnesses and suspects in interview has been a perennial problem for investigators of crime. Historically, the process has been either a matter of judgment exercised by investigators (and prosecutors) or the application of techniques (such as the polygraph) with dubious scientific validity. This paper examines the search for truth and the assessment of veracity in investigation and outlines a developing, science-based technique, Statement Validity Assessment (SVA) which offers hope for an objective analysis of evidence in written form. The processes and practices of SVA are outlined and critiqued.
The time of the Roma in times of crisis: Where has European neoliberal capitalism failed?
Authors: Themelis Spyros
Published: May 2015

This paper argues that the economic and financial crisis that has ensnared Europe from the late 2000s has been instrumental in reshaping employment and social relations in a detrimental way for the majority of the European people. It argues that the crisis has exacerbated the socio-economic position of most Roma people, immigrants as well as of other vulnerable groups. This development is approached here as an outcome of the widening structural inequalities that underpin the crisis within an increasingly neoliberalised Europe. Through recent policy developments and public discourses from a number of European countries I show how rising inequalities nurture racialised social tensions. My account draws on classic and contemporary theoretical propositions that have been propounded about the nature of capitalism, its contemporary re-articulation as well as its ramification for the future of Europe.
Relationship problems
Authors: Middlemiss Sam
Published: May 2015

This paper involves analysis of the law covering discrimination in the workplace against workers who have entered into a formal marriage or a civil partnership, referred to here as ‘marital discrimination’. It also looks at the law dealing with discrimination against single workers. The case law in the United Kingdom concerning both these issues is considered and the protection under the law of the European Union and human rights legislation is analysed. In addition, the legal treatment of discrimination in the workplace against people who have entered into a heterosexual or same-sex marriage in the United States is considered. Recommendations are made for changing the law in both the UK and the US in light of the unclear legal rules and inadequate protection in both jurisdictions for victims of marital and singles discrimination.
Clinician Responses to Client Traumas
Authors: Newell Jason M. , Nelson-Gardell Debra , MacNeil Gordon
Published: May 2015

This paper presents a chronologically-organized review of various concepts and constructs in the literature describing professional burnout, compassion fatigue, secondary traumatic stress reactions, as well as other related terms and constructs that have been used to describe these experiences among clinical practitioners and other social service professionals. A timeline will provide a graphic illustration of the historical relationships between the concepts under examination. This paper begins with a review of practitioner-related stress that primarily results from interaction with clients, followed by an examination of professional burnout, which is thought to result largely from environmentally-related issues. Finally, the paper concludes with a discussion of posttraumatic growth and compassion satisfaction.
Tolerance of Superficial Dose to Setup Error With Tomotherapy
Authors: Galle James O. , Chilukuri Madhu B. , Buckley Stacey L. , Hall Martha J. , Wilcox LaChandra R. , Ove Roger
Published: May 2015

Background:

In cancers of the head and neck, gross tumor or areas at risk of microscopic disease often lie close to the skin, while the skin itself may not be at risk. With intensity-modulated radiotherapy, setup errors can lead to underdosage of superficial structures because the collimator will not by default open beyond the skin surface to apply coverage in the air overlying the skin. Thus, small setup errors can move superficial structures out of field for some beams. Some planning systems allow for manually extrapolating fluence for beams tangential to superficial targets. It is unclear whether this problem is significant with tomotherapy.

Methods:

A head and neck phantom was utilized. A 3-mm bolus was used to represent the skin and allow placement of dosimeters at 3 mm depth. Thermoluminescent dosimeters were placed at reproducible points on the skin surface and at 3 mm depth. The phantom was irradiated, with the target volume deep to the thermoluminescent dosimeters receiving a dose of 5 Gy. This process was repeated with the phantom displaced 2.5 mm and again with a displacement of 5 mm. These displacements simulated setup errors that in clinical practice would correspond to bending or twisting of the neck that could not be corrected with rotations or translations.

Results:

When the phantom was displaced 2.5 mm, the dose measured at 3 mm depth was 99.2% (95.9%-102.5%) of the control. With a 5-mm displacement, the dose at 3 mm only dropped to 91.1% (88.8%-93.4%) of the control. Dose measured at skin surface decreased to a greater degree with such setup error.

Conclusions:

Dose at superficial depths degraded only slightly with 2.5-mm and even 5-mm displacements. With the tomotherapy system, superficial dose appears to be robust to clinically relevant setup errors. However, if the skin is at risk, bolus should be used to ensure adequate coverage.
Use of Traditional Indigenous Medicine and Complementary Medicine Among Indigenous Cancer Patients in Queensland, Australia
Authors: Adams Jon , Valery Patricia C. , Sibbritt David , Bernardes Christina M. , Broom Alex , Garvey Gail
Published: May 2015

Background. The cancer toll on Indigenous Australians is alarming with overall cancer incidence and mortality rates higher and the 5-year survival rate lower for Indigenous Australians compared with non-Indigenous Australians. Meanwhile, a range of approaches to health and illness—including both complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and traditional Indigenous medicine (TM)—are used by cancer patients. Little work has focused on Indigenous cancer patients with regard to CAM/TM use. This article reports findings from the first examination of the prevalence and profile of TM/CAM use and users among Indigenous Australians with cancer. Methods. A structured questionnaire was administered via face-to-face interviews to 248 Indigenous Australian cancer patients diagnosed with a range of cancer types. All received treatment and were recruited from 1 of 4 large hospitals located in Queensland, Australia. Results. A substantial percentage (18.7%) of Indigenous cancer patients use at least one TM/CAM for support with their care, including traditional Indigenous therapy use (2.8%), visiting a traditional Indigenous practitioner (2.8%), CAM use (10.7%), visiting a CAM practitioner (2.4%), and attending relaxation/meditation classes (4.0%). Having a higher level of educational attainment was positively associated with CAM practitioner consultations (P = .015). Women with breast cancer were more likely to attend relaxation/meditation classes (P = .019). Men with genital organ cancer were more likely to use traditional Indigenous therapies (P = .017) and/or CAM (P = .002). Conclusion. A substantial percentage of Indigenous Australians reported using TM/CAM for their cancer care, and there is a need to expand examination of this area of health care using large-scale studies focusing on in-depth specific cancer(s).
MR susceptibility artefact associated with the use of Barricade coils for treatment of intracranial aneurysms
Authors: Gontu Vamsi , McConachie Norman
Published: May 2015

Magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) is commonly used to follow up patients after endovascular treatment for intracranial aneurysms. Magnetic resonance artefacts from coil constructs may impair image quality and jeopardise the evaluation of the effectiveness of treatment and review of adjacent vasculature. We present here a technical note on the usage of Barricade coils recently introduced at our institution. The MRA artefacts associated with these coils may make it impossible to ascertain aneurysm closure and anatomy. Hence these patients would need to be recalled for digital subtraction angiograms for a complete neuroradiological follow-up.
Brenna’s story
Authors: Bye Amanda , Aston Megan
Published: May 2015

Children with intellectual disabilities spend more time in the health-care system than mainstream children. Parents have to learn how to navigate the system by coordinating appointments, understanding the referral process, knowing what services are available, and advocating for those services. This places an incredible amount of responsibility on families. This article is one mother’s personal story and reflection about her journey through the Canadian health-care system in Nova Scotia, with her daughter who has an intellectual disability. The reflection identifies moments of tension experienced by a mother and how she was expected to be a medical system navigator, doctor–educator, time manager, and care coordinator and the roles that led to feelings of repression, extreme frustration, and fear. A final discussion offers an analysis of her experience, using concepts from feminist post-structuralism.
Atypical femoral fractures and bisphosphonate use: current evidence and clinical implications
Authors: Saita Yoshitomo , Ishijima Muneaki , Kaneko Kazuo
Published: May 2015

Osteoporosis is a disease characterized by a low bone volume and deterioration of the bone quality, which increases the risk of low-energy fractures. Bisphosphonate (BP) treatment increases the bone mass and reduces the risk of fractures in patients with osteoporosis by suppressing bone resorption. In spite of its clinical benefits, the long-term use of BPs has been linked to the occurrence of atypical femoral fractures (AFFs). Although the evidence had been controversial regarding the association between the occurrence of AFFs and BP use, more recent studies with radiographic adjudication have indicated the significant associations between them. However, the pathogenesis of AFFs is not completely understood. The most popular hypothesis has suggested that the suppression of bone turnover by BPs is responsible; however, some recent reports have implied the involvement of pathophysiological alterations of the bone quality and fracture repair process. In this review, we summarize and discuss the epidemiology, risk factors and pathology of AFFs.
The Impact of Loneliness on Quality of Life and Patient Satisfaction Among Older, Sicker Adults
Authors: Musich Shirley , Wang Shaohung S. , Hawkins Kevin , Yeh Charlotte S.
Published: May 2015

Objective: This study estimated prevalence rates of loneliness, identified characteristics associated with loneliness, and estimated the impact of loneliness on quality of life (QOL) and patient satisfaction. Method: Surveys were mailed to 15,500 adults eligible for care management programs. Loneliness was measured using the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) three-item scale, and QOL using Veteran’s RAND 12-item (VR-12) survey. Patient satisfaction was measured on a 10-point scale. Propensity weighted multivariate regression models were utilized to determine characteristics associated with loneliness as well as the impact of loneliness on QOL and patient satisfaction. Results: Among survey respondents ( N = 3,765), 28% reported severe and 27% moderate loneliness. The strongest predictor of loneliness was depression. Physical and mental health components of QOL were significantly reduced by loneliness. Severe loneliness was associated with reduced patient satisfaction. Discussion: Almost 55% of these adults experienced loneliness, negatively affecting their QOL and satisfaction with medical services. Screening for loneliness may be warranted.
Experimental acute lung injury induces multi-organ epigenetic modifications in key angiogenic genes implicated in sepsis-associated endothelial dysfunction
Authors: Bomsztyk Karol , Mar Daniel , An Dowon , Sharifian Roya , Mikula Michal , Gharib Sina A , Altemeier William A , Liles W Conrad , Denisenko Oleg
Published: May 2015

Introduction

The Tie2/angiopoietin (Tie2/Ang) and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-ligand systems (VEGFR/VEGF) are recognized to play important roles in the regulation of microvascular endothelial function. Downregulation of these genes during sepsis has been implicated in the pathogenesis of sepsis-related microvascular leak and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome. Mechanisms responsible for dysregulation of angiogenic genes in sepsis are poorly defined.

Methods

Western blot, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, and multiplex chromatin immunoprecipitation platform (Matrix ChIP) were used to investigate serum albumin leak, changes in gene expression, and associated epigenetic alterations in a murine model of acute lung injury-induced sepsis (ALI-sepsis).

Results

Experimental ALI-sepsis induced microvascular leak and downregulation of expression of Angpt1 (Ang1), Tek (Tie2), and Kdr (Vegfr2 or Flk-1) genes in the lung, kidney, and liver. These changes correlate with a decrease in RNA polymerase II density at these genes, and the greatest response was observed in the lung. ALI-sepsis reduced levels of transcription-permissive histone H3 lysine acetylation (H3KAc) at these loci in all examined tissues. Decreases in permissive H3K4m3 and H3Km2 marks were detected only in the lung. In contrast, only minimal alterations in transcription-repressive histone modifications (H3K27m3, H3K9m2, H3K9m3, and H4K20m3) were observed in all tissues.

Conclusions

Our results demonstrate that decreases in transcription-permissive, but not increases in transcription-repressive, histone modifications at Angpt1, Tek, and Kdr are a systemic, rather than a lung-restricted, response, involving key end-organs in experimental ALI-sepsis. Given that ventilator-associated pneumonia is a major cause of sepsis in critically ill patients, elucidation of mechanisms mediating epigenetic alterations during sepsis provides fundamental new insights into the pathogenesis of sepsis-induced microvascular leak and subsequent end-organ injury/dysfunction.