bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Postscript
Authors: Bowen Raven
Published: January 2022

This short section contains a summarises the contributions to the book and provides a message to Contributors.
Policy design and the added-value of the institutional analysis development framework
Authors: Heikkila Tanya , Andersson Krister
Published: January 2022

This chapter reviews why people design institutions to solve shared problems and what makes institutions work, focusing on Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) research. It extracts practical insights and research strategies from IAD scholarship framework and provides a brief background of the IAD's foundational concepts and the framework's theoretical and empirical underpinnings. It details the development of a novel synthesis of strands of IAD research that help translate the opaque language of the IAD. The chapter examines the research within the extensive IAD framework that has emerged over several decades as part of a larger research programme, often associated with the work of Vincent and Elinor Ostrom and their colleagues. It refers to the IAD's lessons on self-governance, core concepts and features of the IAD framework, and how IAD studies have produced contextually specific insights on institutional design.
The Truth, the Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth: The Truth of Who Is to Blame
Authors: Hillier Tim , Dingwall Gavin
Published: January 2022

Chapter 10 draws out some fundamental themes in the book and points to the limitations of the current criminal justice system not only in terms of establishing truth but in terms of realising significant social benefit. Three areas of focus are taken to assess the current system’s ability to find the truth: blame, juvenile justice, and the pursuit of justice. The current criminal process adopts a person, rather than a system, approach to bad events with a focus on identifying individuals to blame rather than addressing the wider problems resulting from crime. Juvenile justice perhaps highlights many aspects of the relationship between truth and criminal justice in general. The chapter concludes by the extent to which the current system’s preoccupation with a narrow historical truth undermines the wider pursuit of justice for all. The pursuit of truth is used as a means of identifying those deserving of punishment, even though the many harms of punishment are as well-documented as the limited effect punishment has in reducing crime. Society must resist the default position that current criminal justice paradigms are optimal either in terms of truth-finding or in terms of responding to criminal harm.
Law Through the Life Course
Authors: Herring Jonathan
Published: January 2022

This book explores how the life responds to the different stages of life. It explains how the law reflects and reinforces assumptions around, for example, childhood and old age. The book explains how the law tends to be based around an idealised model of what it is to be human, particularly with the weight place on autonomy and individualism. This causes difficulty for those who do not fit into the assumptions around their age or the expected norm for humanity. It also overlooks the importance to everyone of their relationships and our deep interconnection.
Visions of the Pre-Criminal Student: Reimagining School Digital Surveillance
Authors: Hope Andrew
Published: January 2022

In examining the links between pre-crime and schools this chapter will initially focus on the notion of pre-crime, before exploring the digital surveillance technologies used in schools and considering whether they are, or might be, involved in pre-crime processes. Having ascertained that despite growing technological capacities contemporary school surveillance technologies are not currently involved in such analytics the focus will shift to a consideration of neoliberal governmentalities in order to suggest that there exist commercial pressures for student data to be used in this way. The notion of the pre-criminal student will then be considered. In conclusion, it is ascertained that connections exist between pre-crime processes and digital school surveillance technologies, not in terms of current school practices, but rather with reference to the potentialities and the socio-economic conditions necessary for such applications to occur.
Afterword: ‘Pre-Crime’ Technologies and the Myth of Race Neutrality
Authors: Ugwudike Pamela
Published: January 2022

In these closing remarks, I wish to foreground the contribution of this text to the study of pre-crime culture and associated ‘hyper-securitization’ technologies. I also wish to highlight an emerging agenda in this field, which focuses on the racial implications of data-driven AI technologies fueling the growth of the pre-crime culture....
Finding Trust and Developing Relationships
Authors: Szifris Kirstine
Published: January 2022

Chapter 8 continues the focus on Full Sutton but moves towards a discussion of trust and relationships. Intimately related, these two issues are gradually overcome in the philosophy classroom and the chapter articulates the how philosophical conversation provided a space for trust to grow and relationships to emerge. Overtime, the atmosphere of the philosophy classroom changed as participants began to engage more with the conversation. Throughout this chapter, Szifris interweaves existing literature ultimately concluding that philosophy provided a sage space for participants to articulate themes – a rare feat in the prison environment.
The Impacts of Decriminalisation for Trans Sex Workers
Authors: Gilmour Fairleigh
Published: January 2022

Research that focuses specifically on cis-gender sex workers, has demonstrated that the decriminalization of sex work in New Zealand has significantly improved police/sex worker relationships (cf Armstrong 2016). However, there is an absence of research that addresses the safety needs of, and law enforcement responses towards, transgender and non-binary sex workers, who may face additional challenges in terms of work safety and police protection, and who suffer disproportionately from violence and from intolerance in the community (Harcourt et al. 2001). This chapter draws from qualitative research interviews conducted with trans and non-binary sex workers in Wellington, Auckland and Christchurch from 2016 to 2018. Drawing from these interviews, this chapter explores the impacts of decriminalization on worker perceptions of safety, on their work conditions, on their security practices and on their relationships with law enforcement. While emphasizing the benefits of decriminalization, this chapter will also explore the barriers that may continue to exist for some workers in accessing safe working conditions.
Fear of Trafficking or Implicit Prejudice? Migrant Sex Workers and the Impacts of Section 19
Authors: Armstrong Lynzi , Abel Gillian , Roguski Michael
Published: January 2022

While sex work is decriminalised in New Zealand and is ostensibly recognised as work, section 19 of the Prostitution Reform Act (PRA) 2003 prohibits temporary migrants from working as sex workers, and migrant sex workers face the threat of deportation if exposed. Section 19 of the PRA stemmed from concern amongst some politicians that decriminalisation could encourage trafficking into the sex industry. This chapter draws on the findings of two qualitative studies: one with migrant sex workers on their experiences, and the other with permanent resident sex workers. Both studies point to the deleterious impacts section 19 has had on migrant sex workers, putting them in a position where they are vulnerable to exploitation. It is argued in this chapter that there is no evidence of trafficking for sex work into New Zealand and that the repeal of Section 19 would be more conducive to protecting migrant sex workers from exploitation and ensuring that the PRA provides appropriate protection to all sex workers.
“My Dollar Doesn’t Mean I’ve Got Any Power or Control over Them”: Clients Speak About Purchasing Sex
Authors: Mower Shannon
Published: January 2022

Debates regarding sex work laws in the contemporary context are imbued with assumptions regarding the clients of sex workers. While in recent years research regarding the motivations and identities of clients has grown more common, clients were historically neglected in sex work research and there is little understanding of how they operate in a decriminalised environment. Despite the lack of research regarding clients in New Zealand’s decriminalised environment, the conduct of clients has been subject to intense speculation, particularly among campaigners outside of New Zealand who oppose decriminalisation. This chapter provides critical insights which complicates this speculation, presenting in-depth, qualitative research on the experiences of 12 clients who have paid for sex in the decriminalised context. Specifically, this chapter explores how these clients navigated their interactions with sex workers in this environment and considers how their conduct aligns with the PRA, which prioritises the rights and occupational health and safety of sex workers. The experiences of participants clearly indicated an acute awareness of the rights of sex workers and a perception that sex workers were not objects to be used, but individuals deserving of respect.
New Horizons in Visual Criminology
Authors: McClanahan Bill
Published: January 2022

This concluding chapter offers a brief summary of the book, along with some short illustrative anecdotes to close the text. It includes a discussion of some of the limitations of the visual criminology outlined in the book, along with a description and discussion of the problems of the senses presented by ocularcentrism and visuocentrism in contemporary culture and theory, and the ways in which it might lead a visual criminology away from important analyses and perspectives. The chapter concludes with some final thoughts on the role of visual criminology—as one dimension of a broader sensory criminology—in the contemporary world.
“Shit Wages” and Side Hustles: Ordinary Working Lives in Nairobi, London and Berlin
Authors: Thieme Tatiana
Published: January 2022

This chapter examines how people make a living in conditions of protracted uncertainty, and the ways in which the labour involved in ‘making do’ comprises a diversity of social and economic forms that are too often over-looked in debates on work. Through three ethnographic portraits in three cities, the chapter explores the relationship between the insecure wage that serves to render a person legible to certain formal institutions and authorities, and the ‘side hustle’ that serves as a crucial but less visible form of investment and return. The chapter seeks to deepen our understanding of how diverse economic activities are organised and narrated through the ordinary working lives of individuals in different regions of the world.
Outsourcing in Education
Authors: Morphet Janice
Published: January 2022

This chapter discusses the introduction of liberalisation into education, which varied according to each part of the sector. It recounts the removal of higher education establishments from local authority control and their transition into the same model as other universities in 1992, which reflected a longstanding pathway for new universities. It also describes local authorities, such as London, wherein there was a strong commitment to nursery places in both free-standing and school-related settings, but there was no consistency across the country. The chapter considers the mainstream school education for children aged 5–18 as the most difficult and challenging part of the education provision to introduce liberalisation to. It highlights the role of private education through public and preparatory schools and the 1944 Education Act, which introduced the schools into the state system using the 11 plus and the direct grant and voluntary aided models.
Conclusions
Authors: Morphet Janice
Published: January 2022

This chapter considers major questions arising from over 40 years of public sector liberalisation and consequent outsourcing. It highlights the UK response to the implementation of the opening of competition across the public sector, which has been undertaken in a number of waves. It also discusses how institutional restructuring in central government has been used as a mechanism to delay or prevent the introduction of any competition or external provision. The chapter notes some of the attempts to apply liberalisation that have not been successful and how the government has had to take back major health and transport infrastructure projects to manage directly at financial and social cost to the country. It explains the detachment of the civil service from operational management, which has reduced its capacity to specify and manage contracts and to cope in a crisis.
Popular Reflections (Survey I)
Authors: Gartner Scott Sigmund , Huang Chin-Hao , Li Yitan , James Patrick
Published: January 2022

This chapter reports on the results of an online survey of public opinion conducted in Taiwan during December 2015. By outlining the contents of the survey: Taiwanese voters' participation and identity formation, along with their relationship to cross-Strait relations, the chapter reveals further nuances of Taiwan's identity formation. It shifts to investigate how the reality of China's rise is affecting popular views and sentiments among those on the island about the Mainland as well as of their own sense of self. The chapter also provides empirical support for the theoretical approach of analytic eclecticism and systemism. The chapter offers analysis and synthesis by linking elite interviews with surveys on issues that pertain to the political economy of China's rise, cross-Strait relations, Taiwanese identity and US activity in Northeast Asia.
Upcycling a Trashed Policy Solution? Argumentative Couplings for Solution Definition and Deconstruction in German Pension Policy
Authors: Blum Sonja
Published: January 2022

Policies, measures, and proposals are constantly developed, but they require the connection to a ‘problem’ (or several ones) to be transformed into ‘solutions’. An essential element in achieving such binding of problem and solution concepts is rhetoric. Yet while problem-policy connections are crucial within the Multiple-Streams Framework (MSF), its element of coupling has remained largely overlooked in the literature. This chapter seeks to contribute to a better understanding of the binding activities by policy actors, and of the argumentative processes through which ‘measures’ or ‘instruments’ are defined into ‘policy solutions’. Moreover, policymaking is not a linear way forward, but involves policy change (or even reversal), which often requires to deconstruct and then replace previous solution definitions. This chapter presents the concept of ‘argumentative coupling’, and employs it to study reforms in German pension policy. The case study highlights the importance of definitional struggles in different spaces of dispute for understanding the definition – and, notably, also the deconstruction – of policy solutions.
Coalitions and Values in the Flow of Policy Solutions
Authors: Zahariadis Nikolaos
Published: January 2022

Why do some solutions become serious policy contenders while others fade away? Utilizing the Multiple Streams Approach, I explore the politics of discursive coalition formation around individual solutions. Each solution contains a coalition of actors bound by a relative convergence of preferences, values, and frames. I argue four factors make some solution/coalition packages more likely contenders for serious consideration and final adoption: side payments, institutional rule manipulation, short-time horizons, and advocacy/framing. Political coalitions are forged around each solution by policy entrepreneurs, making the process partly the result of political conflict and power and partly the consequence of discursive meaning contestation.
Workaway
Authors: Moses Jonathon W.
Published: January 2022

The drive to create a common labour market in Europe has proceeded with little thought given to the particular needs of labour. After all, a large (geographic) market benefits investors and consumers more than workers, ceteris paribus, as it is costly for workers to move great distance. This book examines the process of market integration in Europe to show how it has undermined the power and influence of European workers, and results in a market that generates significant human costs. In the absence of tools for stabilizing local labour markets, European workers now bear the main burden of economic adjustment. This burden comes in the form of high unemployment levels, falling wages, shrinking welfare supports and market-forced migration, or workaway.
Small and Medium-Sized Towns as Secondary Cities: The Case of Switzerland
Authors: Mayer Heike , Meili Rahel , Kaufmann David
Published: January 2022

This chapter applies the concept of secondary cities to the case of Switzerland, a federally organized country that boasts a strong polycentric urban system. Drawing on two case studies from the Swiss urban context this chapter illustrates how secondary cities employ positioning strategies in order to step outside of the agglomeration shadows of their larger neighbouring cities. The comparison suggests that, despite the pressures of agglomeration and the default outcome that Swiss secondary cities will serve as bedroom communities for their larger neighbors, it is possible for such cities to diversify their economies and to strengthen their
profile as regional employment centers. Doing so requires conscious political interventions, including strategies to build on existing local economic foundations that are otherwise subject to relocation. Lessons from this study are expected to inform scholars and policymakers in ways that help secondary cities better position themselves within their regional economies.
Conclusion: Advancing the Secondary City Perspective
Authors: Williams Charles , Pendras Mark
Published: January 2022

This concluding chapter summarizes key themes that emerge from the book, highlighting the importance of assessing uneven intra-regional development from the secondary city perspective. Focusing first on the value and nuances of the borrowed size/agglomeration shadow framework, the chapter then turns to a broader consideration of the book’s implications for regional development. An effective understanding of secondary cities requires a relational approach that foregrounds uneven power dynamics that operate within the regional context. The distinctive contexts and experiences explored in the case study chapters reveal how development outcomes in secondary cities reflect specific political and planning dynamics rather than simply emerging from the “inevitable logic” of market forces. Finally, the chapter concludes with a more exploratory discussion of how embracing a ‘region of cities’ conception of regional development might advance a vision for more equitable and/or inclusive secondary city futures.
Same Difference? Reflections on the Comparative Method in White-Collar Crime Research in Ireland and the United States
Authors: McGrath Joe , Healy Deirdre
Published: January 2022

Comparative socio-legal and criminological research is notoriously complex due to the variety of languages, cultures and legal systems that exist across the globe. These issues are particularly pronounced in comparative white-collar crime research since terms like white-collar crime have no fixed legal meaning in any one country, let alone across multiple jurisdictions. Though currently in its infancy, comparative white-collar crime research is beginning to attract scholarly attention. This essay seeks to add to this emerging field by comparing responses to white-collar crime in the USA and Ireland, using quantitative data as well as qualitative, contextual analyses of both criminal justice landscapes. These analyses are used as a springboard for a critical reflection on the methodological challenges and opportunities that arise during comparative white-collar crime research. While the essay focuses on the US and Ireland, these issues can bedevil any scholar who seeks to compare their jurisdiction against an international exemplar.
What Is ‘European’ about White-Collar Crime in Europe? Perspectives from the Global South
Authors: Zysman-Quirós Diego
Published: January 2022

This essay offers a complementary view from South and Central America's perspective about European white-collar and corporate crime, based on some contributions of postcolonial and decolonial studies and particularly southern criminology that analyze the problems of subordination of knowledge and horizontal collaboration and intellectual motivation beyond national limits. It states that explicitly or implicitly in a large majority of the European works emerge that the white-collar in Europe is constantly defining itself from a single referent with which they gravitate. European studies share a very extensive common history and the problems of capitalist, democratic, and industrialized societies, but they continue to be thought based on their similarities or differences or proximity to the USA. However, this "identity by the opposition", which reflects the difficulty of a definition in the - certainly - great European heterogeneity, leaves unexplored some of the most distinctive qualities of the European tradition and the diversity among its countries that would be much more productive for a European definition of white-collar crime.
Reimagining Black Art and Criminology
Authors: Glynn Martin
Published: January 2022

Reimagining black art and criminology: A new Criminological Imagination explores issues of ‘the racialization of crime’ written from a standpoint of a black British (insider) criminologist who is also a poet, dramatist, and screenwriter. By presenting a criminological ‘counter narrative’ using the lens of ‘black art’ within the wider criminological imagination it is intended to move beyond the discipline’s limited racialized boundaries. Russell (2002) previously called for the development of a black criminology, whilst Phillips and Bowling (2003) strenuously called for minority perspectives in criminology, alongside Cuneen and Tauri (2016) who similarly express the need for a move towards a more critical indigenous criminology. This book will be an important addition to the study of crime, with a unique twist on themes usually explored in a ‘traditional way’ using black art as the prism from which to explore notions of race and the racialization of crime.
Sociology in a World at War: Escape from Freedom
Authors: McLaughlin Neil
Published: January 2022

Erich Fromm became famous writing Escape From Freedom (Fear of Freedom, in the UK) (1994), a book that offered a powerful psychosocial analysis of the rise of Nazism that emphasized historical continencies, culture, the role of psychology, politics and sociological mechanisms. Arguing then that fascism could happen in the United States not just Germany, the book offers powerful insights into Trumpism and the general crisis of democracy we face today. The chapter tells the story of Fromm’s emergence as a public sociologist and evaluates and reformulates his analysis for today.
Philosophy and Travel: The Meaning of Movement
Authors: Niblett Matthew
Published: January 2022

The question of what drives our travel has occupied philosophers down the centuries. This chapter shows how, in the ancient world, movement was often viewed as an aid to thinking, and many philosophers built this into their teaching. More recently, the importance of travel for broadening the mind and as a formative part of learning has been emphasised by leading philosophers. At the same time, some philosophers have observed that travel can leave us disappointed, and this chapter explores some of the reasons thinkers have given for this problem. The chapter also examines how travel and movement have begun to be considered a fundamental human right.
Why Travel? The Sociological Perspective
Authors: Beuret Kris , Hall Roger
Published: January 2022

This chapter explores sociological perspectives, demonstrating how travelling impacts social structures and well as mobility through class and social status. The examples of the search for freedom and social mobility show how mass movements have occurred due to the desire to move from the place and position in which people were born to different positions in the social structure. Moving from one socioeconomic group to another is strongly related with the ability to move jobs, housing, and social groups all of which are enabled by travel. The expansion of mass travel has enabled family structures to survive even though the traditional three generational family residing and working near to each other has largely disappeared. Of course, such ability to travel freely is not available to all equally and the chapter also flags up the disadvantages caused by lack of travel based on income, gender and disability. The chapter also considers the way in which travel shapes and reinforces political beliefs.
Travel as Exploration: Science, the Unknown and Personal Discovery
Authors: Thomas Emily
Published: January 2022

This chapter shows that exploratory travel has shaped human history, and is related to a fundamental human desire to encounter the unknown. In particular the chapter focuses on the role of exploration in the development of the scientific method during the Age of Discovery, specifically the work of early modern thinkers such as Francis Bacon. The chapter explores the motivations for exploration, which often involve both personal quests for wealth, adventure and glory, aligned with larger-scale political and economic forces. The chapter argues that exploration is still possible today, on land and increasingly under the sea and in space. The chapter also examines the more intimate aspect of exploration as an endeavour undertaken in our personal lives, a desire that drives us to step off the beaten track and push ourselves beyond the familiar.
The Western Ideology and Other Essays
Authors: Gamble Andrew
Published: January 2022

The Western Ideology
and Other Essays brings together a selection of Andrew Gamble’s essays on political ideas and ideologies written over the last forty years, combining influential and hard-to-find pieces and chosen to illustrate some of the main themes of his writing in this field. The title essay argues that economic liberalism in varied forms has been central to the dominant interpretation of the western ideology and of liberal modernity in the last two hundred and fifty years, explores the political conditions which made this possible and whether they can be sustained. Essays in the first section explore the character of economic liberalism and why it has been such a resilient form of political economy through an examination of the writings of Hayek, the relationship of neo-liberalism to older forms of economic liberalism, and the interplay of ideas and interests. Other essays explore Marxist, social democratic, and Conservative critiques and alternatives to the western ideology. A final essay explores critiques of the western ideology which reject ideas of progress in human affairs. Contents include a biographical introduction, notes on the essays and an epilogue which revisits the idea of the western ideology and its future, reflecting on recent political developments.
Dirty: No Great Power Can Keep its Hands Clean
Authors: Biscop Sven
Published: January 2022

This chapter explains how grand strategy is “dirty”: strategists have to act in the world as it is, and will be faced with situations in which there are neither entirely “good” nor entirely “clean” options – every course of action will clash to some extent with interests and values. Grand strategy must stay true to the values of the state, but Realpolitik demands that states cooperate with those who share their interests even if not their values. The democratic great powers must maintain the discourse of human rights, even if their leverage to create short-term change is limited; they must not aim at the democratisation of the other great powers.
Ports, Crime and Security
Authors: Sergi Anna , Reid Alexandria , Storti Luca , Easton Marleen
Published: January 2022

The Covid-19 pandemic, Brexit and the US-China trade dispute have heightened interest in the geopolitics and security of modern seaports. Ports are where contemporary societal dilemmas converge: the (de)regulation of international flows; the (in)visible impact of globalisation; the perennial tension between trade and security; and the thin line between legitimate, illicit and illegal. Applying a multidisciplinary lens to the political economy of port security, this book presents a unique outlook on the social, economic and political factors that shape organised crime and governance. Drawing on several primary interviews with port security professionals, this text bridges the divide between global and local, and theory and practice.
Ports: Economy, Institutions and Society
Authors: Sergi Anna , Reid Alexandria , Storti Luca , Easton Marleen
Published: January 2022

The first chapter adopts a political economy approach to define how institutional frameworks, the maritime economy embedded in large ports, and the social environment affect and influence each other, both at the local and the global scale. This approach has long been present in this field of study, but in a rather implicit way. The chapter tries to frame it more clearly. The first part of the chapter observes how ports are embedded in global trade networks and shaped by the national and local institutional frameworks. It then reconstructs the economic processes that actually happen in ports, and outline the individual and collective actors operating in the port economy. Last, the chapter lays out an analytical model to identify the endogenous mechanisms that generate an environment in ports in which informal, illegal actions and multi-faceted criminal activities tend to emerge.
The Future of Port Security
Authors: Sergi Anna , Reid Alexandria , Storti Luca , Easton Marleen
Published: January 2022

Chapter four demonstrates that the political economy approach proposed in this book provides a useful lens for exploring and evaluating how social, technological, economic and political forces will continue to shape port security in the future. It begins by discussing the ‘long shadow’ of the ISPS Code and its treatment – or lack thereof – of organised crime as a port security priority. Here, it engages with critiques of the politicisation of the international port security regime, its failure to address local priorities and what this means for maritime-focussed capacity building initiatives moving forward. It then turns to technology, digitisation and automation as a challenge and opportunity for port security, including cybersecurity as an emergent threat, the changing nature of corruption vulnerabilities and the displacement of organised crime activities into the wider logistics supply chain and port-city hinterland area.
Exploring Older Adults’ Experiences of Urban Space in the COVID-19 Lockdowns: Dutch and British Perspectives
Authors: Osborne Tess , Dul Arlinde , Meijering Louise
Published: January 2022

Around the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to the implementation of social distancing protocols to hinder the spread of the virus. Older adults, who are acknowledged to be vulnerable to the virus, were encouraged to self-isolate. This chapter explores the similarities and differences in the lockdown experiences of older adults in urban environments in the UK and the Netherlands by drawing on telephone interviews with 38 older adults. The interviewed elderly, in response to perceived risks of crowds, often chose to be in, and interact with, spaces at a short distance from their homes. Though this reduced mobility and hyperlocal everyday life might seem restricting at first, it could also facilitate ‘aging-in-place’ in the long term, as the elderly become more familiar with their immediate surroundings.
The Resilience of Street Vendors in Surviving the COVID-19 Crisis in Hanoi, Vietnam
Authors: Thai Ha Minh Hai , Dinh Phuong Quoc , Nguyen Phuong Thu
Published: January 2022

This chapter examines the informal livelihoods of street workers in Hanoi, Vietnam, during the COVID-19 crisis. It highlights the initiatives they employed to generate income and provide affordable food and critical services to other low-income families. Lockdown measures have been harshly affecting the informal sectors, yet street vendors have demonstrated their resilience, ability to self-sustain and critical roles to the community. Through examining local reports and interviews with street workers, this chapter sheds light on the survival strategies of poor citizens and reveals the diversity of their initiatives ranging from embracing grassroots self-managed organisations, employing information technologies and social media, shifting to mobile trading, and self-enforcing hygiene and spatial distancing.
Families Lost and Found: Orphans and Orphanhood in Post-Soviet Cinema
Authors: Rutsala Kirsten
Published: January 2022

The motif of absent fathers occurs in many Russian films, especially those produced during the Thaw, reflecting the reality of families destroyed and fragmented by World War II and the Terror. The nuclear family functions as a microcosm of the state, and in its turn the state is represented as a family; the absent father frequently stands for Stalin, the “Father of Nations,” whose death has left the orphaned country in turmoil. In Russian cinema of the 1990s and 2000s, the motifs of fragmented families and orphaned children occur frequently, often representing the loss of security and defining cultural narratives in the post-Soviet landscape. This article examines the subject of both functional and actual orphanhood in Andrei Zviagintsev’s film The Return and Andrei Kravchuk’s film The Italian as it parallels the post-Soviet experience of uncertainty, rejection of previously held societal beliefs, and longing to return to the "small family," rather than the Soviet collective “great family” (to borrow Katerina Clark's terms from her seminal work The Soviet Novel).
Kontextabhängige Rechtsvisualisierung mit Augmented Reality
Authors: Muff Fabian , Fill Hans-Georg , Kahlig Eleonora , Kahlig Wolfgang
Published: January 2022

Um rechtliche Sachverhalte im täglichen Leben verstehen und beurteilen zu können, ist häufig grosses Vorwissen oder die Verfügbarkeit von Rechtsexperten erforderlich. Das Gebiet der Rechtsvisualisierung weist eine lange Tradition in der grafischen Repräsentation von rechtlichen Situationen auf. Damit lassen sich Erklärungen von Rechtsnormen und konkreten Sachverhalten in einer für Laien verständlichen Form aufbereiten. Im vorliegenden Beitrag wird der Einsatz von Augmented Reality (AR) Technologie in der Rechtsvisualisierung untersucht. Mit Hilfe dieser Technologie können Anwendern Rechtsvisualisierungen für einen automatisch ermittelten Kontext präsentiert werden, die ihnen helfen, die rechtliche Situation besser zu verstehen. Zur Beurteilung der technischen Machbarkeit wurde ein Prototyp für eine AR-Applikation entwickelt, die kontextabhängig modell-basierte Rechtsvisualisierungen in die reale Umgebung einblenden kann. Anhand eines Fallbeispiels aus dem Bereich des Misetrechts wird die Anwendung in der Praxis beschrieben.
Detection and characterization of genome-wide mutations in M1 vegetative cells of gamma-irradiated Arabidopsis
Authors: Kitamura Satoshi , Satoh Katsuya , Oono Yutaka
Published: January 2022

Radiation-induced mutations have been detected by whole-genome sequencing analyses of self-pollinated generations of mutagenized plants. However, large DNA alterations and mutations in non-germline cells were likely missed. In this study, in order to detect various types of mutations in mutagenized M1 plants, anthocyanin pigmentation was used as a visible marker of mutations. Arabidopsis seeds heterozygous for the anthocyanin biosynthetic genes were irradiated with gamma-rays. Anthocyanin-less vegetative sectors resulting from a loss of heterozygosity were isolated from the gamma-irradiated M1 plants. The whole-genome sequencing analysis of the sectors detected various mutations, including structural variations (SVs) and large deletions (≥100 bp), both of which have been less characterized in the previous researches using gamma-irradiated plant genomes of M2 or later generations. Various types of rejoined sites were found in SVs, including no-insertion/deletion (indel) sites, only-deletion sites, only-insertion sites, and indel sites, but the rejoined sites with 0–5 bp indels represented most of the SVs. Examinations of the junctions of rearrangements (SVs and large deletions), medium deletions (10–99 bp), and small deletions (2–9 bp) revealed unique features (i.e., frequency of insertions and microhomology) at the rejoined sites. These results suggest that they were formed preferentially via different processes. Additionally, mutations that occurred in putative single M1 cells were identified according to the distribution of their allele frequency. The estimated mutation frequencies and spectra of the M1 cells were similar to those of previously analyzed M2 cells, with the exception of the greater proportion of rearrangements in the M1 cells. These findings suggest there are no major differences in the small mutations (<100 bp) between vegetative and germline cells. Thus, this study generated valuable information that may help clarify the nature of gamma-irradiation-induced mutations and their occurrence in cells that develop into vegetative or reproductive tissues.
Causes and timing of 30-day rehospitalization from skilled nursing facilities after a hospital admission for pneumonia or sepsis
Authors: Riester Melissa R. , Bosco Elliott , Silva Joe B. B. , Bardenheier Barbara H. , Goyal Parag , O’Neil Emily T. , van Aalst Robertus , Chit Ayman , Gravenstein Stefan , Zullo Andrew R.
Published: January 2022

Background

Pneumonia and sepsis are among the most common causes of hospitalization in the United States and often result in discharges to a skilled nursing facility (SNF) for rehabilitation. We described the timing and most common causes of 30-day unplanned hospital readmission following an index hospitalization for pneumonia or sepsis.

Methods and findings

This national retrospective cohort study included adults ≥65 years who were hospitalized for pneumonia or sepsis and were discharged to a SNF between July 1, 2012 and July 4, 2015. We quantified the ten most common 30-day unplanned readmission diagnoses and estimated the daily risk of first unplanned rehospitalization for four causes of readmission (circulatory, infectious, respiratory, and genitourinary). The index hospitalization was pneumonia for 92,153 SNF stays and sepsis for 452,254 SNF stays. Of these SNF stays, 20.9% and 25.9%, respectively, resulted in a 30-day unplanned readmission. Overall, septicemia was the single most common readmission diagnosis for residents with an index hospitalization for pneumonia (16.7% of 30-day readmissions) and sepsis (22.4% of 30-day readmissions). The mean time to unplanned readmission was approximately 14 days overall. Respiratory causes displayed the highest daily risk of rehospitalization following index hospitalizations for pneumonia, while circulatory and infectious causes had the highest daily risk of rehospitalization following index hospitalizations for sepsis. The day of highest risk for readmission occurred within two weeks of the index hospitalization discharge, but the readmission risk persisted across the 30-day follow-up.

Conclusion

Among older adults discharged to SNFs following a hospitalization for pneumonia or sepsis, hospital readmissions for infectious, circulatory, respiratory, and genitourinary causes occurred frequently throughout the 30-day post-discharge period. Our data suggests further study is needed, perhaps on the value of closer monitoring in SNFs post-hospital discharge and improved communication between hospitals and SNFs, to reduce the risk of potentially preventable hospital readmissions.
Influences of the COVID-19 pandemic and response strategies on residents’ psychological state: The survey from Hainan Island
Authors: Zhang Jinping , Zhou Xiangli , Xue Bing , Su Fang , Li Jingzhong , Li Fang , Chu Tong , Cheng Yeqing
Published: January 2022

Mental health is a major public health issue that affects social development. This study aims to explore the psychological state of residents of Hainan Island and its influencing factors during the COVID-19 pandemic and to provide a scientific basis for the formulation of psychological counseling measures to be used after the pandemic. We used the nonprobability snowball sampling method to conduct an online survey from February 21 to February 28, 2020, and collected a sample of 533 respondents. Using a binary logistic regression model and network analysis, the psychological state of residents and the main factors were analyzed during the concentrated outbreak of COVID-19 (from January 20 to February 16, 2020). The study found that during the pandemic, 92.7% of the respondents were in a poor state of mind, and 54.2% experienced severe psychological stress. The mental state is spatially expressed as a pattern of “high in the middle and low in the surroundings.” Second, within the four-week sample, the overall psychological tension showed an inverted U-shaped trend. Respondents feeling stressed were most common in the second week, when they accounted for 87.99% of the total. Third, individual characteristics such as gender, age, fixed expenditure, and family size significantly affect the mental state. Women, the elderly, residents with fixed expenditures, and residents with large families are at greater risk of psychological stress. Finally, external factors such as the distance between residents and the location of cases and the node degree of the pandemic transmission network have a significant impact on the psychological state. However, residents in the least developed areas of Hainan Island, which are far away from active cases and have a low node degree, are more prone to psychological pressure. The government needs to pay special attention to these groups when constructing a long-term mechanism of psychological crisis intervention and increase public health resource investment in underdeveloped areas.
Effect of switching from tenofovir disoproxil fumarate to tenofovir alafenamide on lipid profiles in patients with hepatitis B
Authors: Suzuki Kazuharu , Suda Goki , Yamamoto Yoshiya , Abiko Satoshi , Kinoshita Kenji , Miyamoto Shuichi , Sugiura Ryo , Kimura Megumi , Maehara Osamu , Yamada Ren , Kitagataya Takashi , Shigesawa Taku , Ohara Masatsugu , Kawagishi Naoki , Nakai Masato , Sho Takuya , Natsuizaka Mitsuteru , Morikawa Kenichi , Ogawa Koji , Sakamoto Naoya
Published: January 2022

For long-term treatment of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, switching from tenofovir-disoproxil-fumarate (TDF) to tenofovir-alafenamide (TAF) may prevent renal dysfunction and bone loss. However, the precise effects of this switch on the blood lipid profile remain to be clarified. This is an important issue as TDF is known to have effects on both low- and high-density lipids. Therefore, our retrospective multi-center study aimed to evaluate the effects of switching from TDF to TAF on the lipid profile of patients with HBV infection. Samples were obtained prior to the switch from TDF to TAF and at 6–12 months after TAF initiation. In some cases, additional samples obtained pre- and post-TDF administration were available for analysis. Serum cholesterol levels, including oxidized-low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and non-high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-c), and the rate of dyslipidemia, according to the NCEP-ATP III lipid risk classification, were analyzed. The data from 69 patients were analyzed, including 33 patients with pre- and post-TDF-initiation serum samples. Total cholesterol (T-chol), HDL-c, LDL-c, non-HDL-c, and oxidized LDL levels increased significantly after switching to TAF. With regard to sequential changes pre- to post-TAF, TDF was associated with significantly lower serum T-chol, HDL-c, and oxidized LDL-c levels, with T-chol, HDL-c, LDL-c, and oxidized LDL-c levels increasing significantly after the switch. The switch from TDF to TAF was also associated with an increase in the rate of dyslipidemia, from 33% to 39%, with an increase in the rate of severe dyslipidemia of 1.4% and 5.8%, based on T-chol and LDL-c levels. Of note, no cases of severe dyslipidemia were detected pre-TAF treatment. As oxidized LDL-c and non-HDL-c are strongly associated with atherosclerosis development, careful monitoring of lipid is needed after switching from TDF to TAF in this clinical population.
In silico identification of sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) genome encoded microRNAs targeting sugarcane bacilliform virus
Authors: Ashraf Muhammad Aleem , Feng Xiaoyan , Hu Xiaowen , Ashraf Fakiha , Shen Linbo , Iqbal Muhammad Shahzad , Zhang Shuzhen
Published: January 2022

Sugarcane bacilliform virus (SCBV) is considered one of the most economically damaging pathogens for sugarcane production worldwide. Three open reading frames (ORFs) are characterized in the circular, ds-DNA genome of the SCBV; these encode for a hypothetical protein (ORF1), a DNA binding protein (ORF2), and a polyprotein (ORF3). A comprehensive evaluation of sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) miRNAs for the silencing of the SCBV genome using in silico algorithms were carried out in the present study using mature sugarcane miRNAs. miRNAs of sugarcane are retrieved from the miRBase database and assessed in terms of hybridization with the SCBV genome. A total of 14 potential candidate miRNAs from sugarcane were screened out by all used algorithms used for the silencing of SCBV. The consensus of three algorithms predicted the hybridization site of sof-miR159e at common locus 5534. miRNA–mRNA interactions were estimated by computing the free-energy of the miRNA–mRNA duplex using the RNAcofold algorithm. A regulatory network of predicted candidate miRNAs of sugarcane with SCBV—ORFs, generated using Circos—is used to identify novel targets. The predicted data provide useful information for the development of SCBV-resistant sugarcane plants.