bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Employment relations and the state in Malaysia
Authors: Crinis Vicki , Parasuraman Balakrishnan
Published: March 2016

The post-colonial state in Malaysia has been driven primarily by the logic of pacification and accumulation, as reflected in its sustained reliance on export-oriented industrialisation and high levels of political control. These fundamental characteristics of the Malaysian state are reproduced in the realm of employment relations, which are dominated by managerial unilateralism as a consequence of a long history of union repression. Malaysia's adherence to a minimalist version of the tripartite framework promoted by the International Labour Organization and its long-standing status as a middle-income country have meant the kinds of international pressure and support for change evident in some other Southeast Asian countries is largely absent. Internally, pressure for change has been minimal because of the heavy hand of the state, which has made it clear that any challenge will be dealt with severely both at the individual and the organisational level. The situation has been exacerbated by the fact that many traditionally unionised export-oriented industries have shifted to contract workers and regulatory adjustments have allowed for enhanced employment flexibility.
The making of industrial relations in Timor-Leste
Authors: Ford Michele
Published: March 2016

As a new nation, Timor-Leste offers a unique case where formal industrial relations mechanisms have been developed as part of a broader project of state formation. In other words, the transformation of employment relations in the formal sector has taken place as part of regime establishment rather than regime change, as has been the case in other post-authoritarian contexts in Southeast Asia. As this first account of industrial relations in Timor-Leste demonstrates, the state has been concerned first and foremost with encouraging sustainable forms of accumulation, and the employment opportunities that accompany them, rather than with regulating labour relations. Although it has responded to pressure from international organisations to establish what could have been best-practice industrial relations institutions in the country’s tiny formal sector, these efforts have foundered as a consequence of a failure to secure employer buy-in and weak enforcement.
Writing an Independently Composed Sentence by Spanish-Speaking Children With and Without Poor Transcription Skills: A Writing-Level Match Design
Authors: García Eduardo , Crespo Patricia , Bermúdez Ivana
Published: March 2016

The main objective of this research was to analyze the impact of transcription skills of Spanish writers when writing an independently composed sentence within a writing-level design. The free-writing sentence task from the Early Grade Writing Assessment (Jiménez, in press) was used to examine the production, accuracy, speed, syntactic complexity, quality, and fluency of children with poor transcription skills (PTS). The results showed that there were significant differences between children with PTS and peers who had good transcription skills. The PTS group members were less accurate, slower, and less fluent or even dysfluent. Furthermore, their sentences were less complex and contained lower quality content. These results suggest that transcription skills play a crucial role in early written expression in Spanish, and poor transcription abilities hamper the acquisition and normal development of sentence composition.
Authentic Assessment in Music Composition
Authors: Deutsch Daniel
Published: March 2016

Every composition created by a young composer represents a step in the student’s creative path. Assessment, an intrinsic aspect of teaching, fosters learning and propels students forward on their journeys to creative self-expression. Authentic feedback and assessment strategies must be grounded both in the individual musical context of each composition and in the context of each student’s unique profile as a learner and creator. Authentic assessment treats student composition as meaningful musical expression. This article offers guidance for the authentic assessment of precollege student composition. It includes critical commentary on rubrics, offers suggestions for providing meaningful feedback, and gives advice for implementing student-centered assessment of young composers’ works.
Understanding the Impact of Online Reviews on Hotel Performance
Authors: Phillips Paul , Barnes Stuart , Zigan Krystin , Schegg Roland
Published: March 2016

Understanding consumers’ needs and wants has been a major source of success for hotel organizations. Notwithstanding, investigating the valence of online reviews and modeling hotel attributes and performance is still a rather novel approach. Using partial least squares path modeling, Swiss country-level data for online reviews from 68 online platforms, together with data from 442 hotels, we test 11 hypotheses. Our research model includes three distinctive areas of the hotel: physical aspects, quality of food and drink, and human aspects of service provision. RevPAR and occupancy are employed as performance metrics. We also test for mediation effects. Results indicate that hotel attributes, including the quality of rooms, Internet provision and building show the highest impact on hotel performance, and that positive comments have the highest impact on customer demand. This study contributes to theories of valence on hotel performance and presents salient implications for practitioners to enhance performance.
Power plays and Olympic divisions: bilingualism and the politics of Canadian viewing rights at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games
Authors: Scherer Jay , Harvey Jean , Hofman-Mourão Marcela
Published: March 2016

There have been innumerable political debates around the world over the distribution of live sporting events in the digital era. Typically, these deliberations involve competing claims and interests associated with sport, commerce, cultural and broadcasting policies, and, at times, language rights. This article examines a recent debate in Canada over unequal access to live French-language coverage of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games that prompted several interventions by public authorities and francophone community organizations. These interventions were required precisely because of the economic structure of the broadcasting market and the historical conditions of Canadian broadcasting policy. Indeed, unlike other nations, the Canadian state has not enacted legislation to protect the ‘viewing rights’ of citizens to have access to live telecasts of sporting events of national significance in both official languages. The debate was significant, then, precisely because it revolved around a central political commitment of the state: the principle of bilingualism. Moreover, the deliberations underscored the historical tensions between the material interests of the sport–media complex and the viewing rights of Canadians to have access to telecasts of sport in both official languages, and, by extension, the constitutional language rights of citizens enshrined in the Official Languages Act (1969).
Negotiating the ‘real’ in ‘reality shows’: production side discourses between deconstruction and reconstruction
Authors: Mast Jelle
Published: March 2016

In this study, we set out to elaborate configurations of the ‘real’ and ‘authentic’ in the discourses of program makers and participants of ‘reality shows’. This production side perspective has more often been the object, rather than the subject, in the debate. We develop our argument through a theoretically informed discussion at the intersection of cultural and documentary studies. Our analysis proceeds through a thematic content analysis of 39 semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 14 television professionals and 25 participants involved in the production of formats belonging to various subgenres, all with a border-crossing circulation. The analysis demonstrates that when gauging ‘the real’ in ‘reality shows’, participants and program makers do not subscribe to a ‘naïve realistic’ celebration, as the ‘reality TV’ denominator may suggest, yet, nonetheless still strongly invest in a sense of the ‘real’ or ‘authentic’. As such, they engage in a sophisticated, dynamic and, so it could be argued, strategic shifting to-and-fro deconstructive and reconstructive positions. What ensues from this dialog between deconstruction and reconstruction is a conception of the ‘reality show’ as a nodal point of the multiple and ever-evolving configurations of the ‘real’ and the ‘authentic’ in a reflexive, media-savvy culture.
Identifying personality disturbance in the Lincolnshire Personality Disorder Pathway
Authors: Nichols Felicity , Dunster Charlotte , Beckley Kerry
Published: March 2016

The Bradley report published in 2009 highlighted the diverse and complex nature of the offender population and the need for partnership working to ensure early identification of needs and diversion into appropriate treatment. Following the successful pilot of an initiative in London to identify personality disturbance and plan treatment pathways, provisions have been made for implementation at a national level. This paper seeks to draw a comparison between the original sample identified in the London pilot and those identified by the Lincolnshire Personality Disorder Pathway in the context of the Transforming Rehabilitation agenda to consider the importance of local planning.
Dynamics between denial and moral panic
Authors: Boone Miranda , van de Bunt Henk
Published: March 2016

In this contribution the authors describe the main findings of a research study conducted in the Netherlands on the return of sex-offenders to the community. The study questioned how crisis situations can develop following the identification of a sex-offender in the community. The study consisted of an analysis of ten cases in which the return of a convicted sex offender to the community or the ‘discovery’ of a sex-offender in the community resulted in community unrest and attracted media attention. Interviews were conducted with professionals involved in supervising those individuals convicted for sexual offences as well as the individuals themselves. Contrary to the situation in both the United States and the United Kingdom, criminal records in the Netherlands − as in most of continental Europe − are predominantly seen as a private matter and are not made public to those outside the criminal justice system. The article also examines the role of the local Mayor who has a central role in managing the local negative reactions to return of those convicted of sexual offences back into the community in the Netherlands. The findings produced from the data are analysed applying a social construction approach that utilizes the concepts of ‘moral panic’ and denial. The authors found that the return of a those convicted of sexual offences can lead to a range of responses varying from anger and panic to secrecy and denial. Ultimately the authors found that greater transparency led to more positive outcomes in these cases.
Evaluation of different types of inferior vena cava cannulae placement by transesophageal echocardiography and its impact on hepatic dysfunction
Authors: Tempe Deepak K , Kiro Kiran L , Satyarthy Subodh , Virmani Sanjula , Kumar Pradeep , Betigiri Vithalkumar M , Minhas Harpreet S
Published: March 2016

Background:

Postoperative hepatic dysfunction may occur in an otherwise uncomplicated open heart surgery. One of the reasons is malpositioning of the inferior vena cava (IVC) cannula in the hepatic vein (HV) or beyond. A straight cannula is considered more likely to be malpositioned compared to the angled cannula and a malpositioned cannula can lead to hepatic dysfunction.

Methods:

In this prospective study, forty adult patients undergoing atrial septal defect repair were randomized into two groups as: straight cannula group (n=20) and angled cannula group (n=20). The cannula position was assessed by transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) (hepatic vein view). Alanine aminotransferase levels (ALT) and bilirubin levels were measured immediately, at 6 hours and on day 1, day 2 and day 7 after surgery as a marker of hepatic injury.

Results:

TEE localization of the IVC cannula was achieved in all patients except one. Visualization was good in 85% of patients. A cannula in the HV or beyond the HV in the IVC was considered malpositioned. The number of cases of cannula malposition was 10 (50%) and 4 (20%) in the straight and angled cannula groups, respectively. The pattern of change in serum bilirubin and liver enzymes levels in the postoperative period was similar in both the groups (p>0.05). The mean distance between the right atrium (RA) - inferior vena cava (IVC) junction to the hepatic vein was 1.94±0.56 cm and the mean diameters of the IVC and HV were 1.95±0.5 and 1.31±0.33 cm, respectively.

Conclusion:

TEE can be used to monitor IVC cannula position. A higher frequency of cannula malposition was observed with the straight cannula compared to the angled cannula, but was not found to be associated with hepatic dysfunction.
Delay of late-venous phase cortical vein filling in acute ischemic stroke patients: Associations with collateral status
Authors: Bhaskar Sonu , Bivard Andrew , Parsons Mark , Nilsson Michael , Attia John R , Stanwell Peter , Levi Christopher
Published: March 2016

Evaluation of the venous system may be useful in stroke prognostication and patient selection for acute intervention strategies. We report a novel phenomenon, delayed-late venous phase cortical vein filling, observed on dynamic computed tomography angiography obtained using multidetector computed tomography scanner, in acute ischemic stroke patients. The aim of this study was to examine the frequency of delayed-late venous phase cortical vein filling and assess its association to baseline collateral status. Dynamic computed tomography angiography images of acute ischemic stroke patients, being assessed for reperfusion therapy, were prospectively studied. Delayed-late venous phase cortical vein filling was defined by late venous phase opacification of cortical veins despite contrast clearance from contralateral cortical veins on dynamic computed tomography angiography. Time to peak of maximum arterial enhancement was recorded. A total of 117 patients (mean age = 70.6 ± 13.3 years; males = 48%) with hemispheric ischemic stroke who underwent acute dynamic computed tomography angiography were included in the study. Overall, 56 (48%) demonstrated delayed-late venous phase cortical vein filling. Poor collateralization (OR = 13.50; 95% CI = (4.2, 43); p ≤ 0.0001) and longer time to peak of maximum arterial enhancement (OR = 3.2; 95% CI = (1.96, 5.3); p  ≤ 0.0001) were positively associated with delayed-late venous phase cortical vein filling. Delayed-late venous phase cortical vein filling was independently associated with poor baseline collateral status (75% vs. 15%, p ≤ 0.0001; OR = 14.38; 95% CI = (4.33, 47.8); p ≤ 0.0001). Delayed-late venous phase cortical vein filling is frequently seen in patients with acute ischemic stroke and is associated with poor baseline collateralization.
Contrast medium enhanced susceptibility imaging signal mechanism; should we use contrast medium?
Authors: Aydın Ömer , Büyükkaya Ramazan , Hakyemez Bahattin
Published: March 2016

Background

Intracranial lesions exhibit clear contrast enhancement in T1-weighted imaging, but the mechanism whereby contrast-enhanced susceptibility-weighted imaging (CE-SWI) generates signals remains unclear. Contrast enhancement patterns cannot be reliably predicted.

Purpose

To explore the mechanism of CE-SWI contrast enhancement.

Material and Methods

Fifty-five patients were retrospectively enrolled. All of the imaging employed a clinical 3T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system fitted with a 32-channel head coil. Minimum-intensity projection reformatted images were evaluated. Intracranial lesions and brain parenchymal intensities were explored using SWI and CE-SWI. signal intensity rates were calculated by dividing the lesional intensity by the white matter intensity, after which the SWI and CE-SWI signal intensity rate were compared. Two observers independently performed intralesional susceptibility signal analysis.

Results

After contrast medium administration, malignant and extra-axial tumors exhibited obvious contrast enhancement on CE-SWI ( P < 0.001 and P = 0.013, respectively). The signal intensity of white matter was significantly reduced. The signal intensity rates rose significantly in the benign, malignant, and extra-axial groups ( P < 0.001). Between-radiologist agreement in terms of intralesional susceptibility signal assessment was strong (kappa = 0.8, P < 0.001).

Conclusion

Contrast media can either reduce or increase SWI signal intensities. The dual contrast feature of CE-SWI can be useful when exploring intracranial disorders.
Sjögren’s syndrome complicated with Fanconi syndrome and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis: Case report and literature review
Authors: Shi Mingmin , Chen Lei
Published: March 2016

We report a unique case of Sjögren’s syndrome complicated with Fanconi syndrome and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis in a 53-year-old Chinese woman, initially found to have proteinuria, fatigue and multiple old costal fractures. Distal tubular dysfunction is the most common renal damage in Sjögren’s syndrome, while Fanconi syndrome (which is caused by proximal tubular dysfunction) and Hypothyroidism are rare complications of Sjögren’s syndrome.
Sleep quality, daytime sleepiness and health-related quality-of-life in maintenance haemodialysis patients
Authors: Shen Quanquan , Huang Xiaohong , Luo Zhaofen , Xu Xiujun , Zhao Xiang , He Qiang
Published: March 2016

Objectives

To assess the relationship between sleep quality, daytime sleepiness and health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) in Chinese patients undergoing maintenance haemodialysis (MHD).

Methods

This cross-sectional study enrolled patients undergoing MHD. Self-reported sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index [PSQI]), daytime sleepiness (Epworth Sleepiness Scale [ESS]) and HRQoL (36-item Short Form [SF-36]) were recorded for all patients.

Results

Sixty eight patients (mean ± SD age = 61.75 ± 16.56 years; 43 male/25 female) who regularly received MHD were included. The prevalence of poor sleepers was 69.1% (47/68) and daytime sleepiness was 11.8% (eight of 68). Poor sleepers had a significantly lower Physical Component Scale (PCS) score, Mental Component Scale (MCS) score and total SF-36 score than good sleepers. The PSQI score correlated inversely with both the PCS and MCS scores and correlated positively with age. Independent variables associated with total SF-36 score were duration of MHD, ESS score and PSQI score.

Conclusions

Poor sleep quality is a common and severe issue for MHD patients in east China. Both sleep quality and daytime sleepiness were associated with lower HRQoL scores.
Protective effects of sevoflurane in hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury
Authors: Li Ji , Yuan Tong , Zhao Xin , Lv Guo-Yue , Liu Huan-Qiu
Published: March 2016

The endothelial glycocalyx plays a critical role in the regulation of vascular structure and functions. Previous studies have demonstrated that sevoflurane, a volatile anesthetic, can preserve the endothelial glycocalyx in heart tissues against ischemia-reperfusion injury. However, little is known about the effects of sevoflurane pretreatment on the vascular structure and functions of liver tissues following ischemia-reperfusion injury. To this end, female Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 28) were anesthetized either with ketamine (80–120 mg/kg, i.p.) or with one minimum alveolar concentration (MAC) sevoflurane (2% v/v). Following in vivo hepatic ischemia procedure, the liver was isolated and reperfusion was produced. During the period of reperfusion, liver reperfusion samples were collected, and the concentrations of heparan sulfate and syndecan-1 (Syn-1), and the levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) enzymes, were measured. The morphology of hepatocytes and endothelial glycocalyx were then assessed by using the light and electron microscopies, respectively. Ischemia-reperfusion increased the release of HS and Syn-1, and elevated the levels of ALT and AST in a time-dependent manner. However, sevoflurane pretreatment reduced the release of HS and Syn-1and attenuated the levels of ALT and AST, in a time-dependent manner, as compared with ketamine pretreatment. Furthermore, sevoflurane pretreatment decreased the shedding of endothelial glycocalyx and hepatocytes necrosis. Sevoflurane pretreatment preserved the endothelial glycocalyx in the liver tissue against ischemia-reperfusion injury. The effect appears to help protect hepatocytes against ischemia-reperfusion-induced necrosis.
Effect of Calcium β‐Hydroxy‐β‐Methylbutyrate (CaHMB), Vitamin D, and Protein Supplementation on Postoperative Immobilization in Malnourished Older Adult Patients With Hip Fracture
Authors: Ekinci Osman , Yanık Serhat , Terzioğlu Bebitoğlu Berna , Yılmaz Akyüz Elvan , Dokuyucu Ayfer , Erdem Şevki
Published: March 2016

Background: Nutrition support in orthopedic patients with malnutrition shortens the immobilization period. The efficacy of calcium β‐hydroxy‐β‐methylbutyrate (CaHMB), vitamin D, and protein intake on bone structure is studied and well known; however, there is no evidence supporting the effect of combined use in orthopedic conditions. We investigated the effects of CaHMB, vitamin D, and protein supplementation on wound healing, immobilization period, muscle strength, and laboratory parameters. Materials and Methods: This randomized controlled study included 75 older female patients with a hip fracture admitted to orthopedic clinics. The control group received standard postoperative nutrition. The study group received an enteral product containing 3 g CaHMB, 1000 IU vitamin D, and 36 g protein, in addition to standard postoperative nutrition. Anthropometric, laboratory, wound‐healing, immobilization period, and muscle strength assessments were evaluated preoperatively and on postoperative days 15 and 30. Results: Wound‐healing period was significantly shorter in the CaHMB/vitamin D/protein group than in the control group (P < .05). The number of patients in the CaHMB/vitamin D/protein group who were mobile on days 15 and 30 (81.3%) was significantly higher than patients in the control group, who were mobile on days 15 and 30 (26.7%) (P = .001). Muscle strength on day 30 was significantly higher in the CaHMB/vitamin D/protein group vs the control group. Conclusion: Nutrition of elderly patients with a CaHMB/vitamin D/protein combination led to acceleration of wound healing, shortening of immobilization period, and increased muscle strength without changing body mass index. It also reduced dependence to bed and related complications after an orthopedic operation.
Raising a Red Flag on Dating Violence: Evaluation of a Low-Resource, College-Based Bystander Behavior Intervention Program
Authors: Borsky Amanda E. , McDonnell Karen , Turner Monique Mitchell , Rimal Rajiv
Published: March 2016

Encouraging bystanders to intervene safely and effectively in situations that could escalate to violence—known as bystander behavior programs—is a growing yet largely untested strategy to prevent dating violence. Using a quasi-experimental design, we evaluate a low-resource, low-intensity intervention aimed at preventing dating violence among college students. The integrated behavioral model (IBM) was used to guide the evaluation. We also assess which IBM variables were most strongly associated with bystander behaviors. Participants were drawn from two Virginia colleges that predominantly train females in the health profession sciences. The intervention group ( n = 329) participated in a university-wide bystander behavior intervention consisting of a 30-min presentation on dating violence at new-student orientation and a week-long “red flag” social marketing campaign on campus to raise awareness of dating violence. Controlling for changes at the comparison university, results showed an increase in bystander behaviors, such as encouraging a friend who may be in an abusive relationship to get help, after the intervention and adjusting for potential confounders (increase of 1.41 bystander behaviors, p = .04). However, no significant changes were found for bystander intentions, self-efficacy, social norms, or attitudes related to dating violence from pre- to post-intervention. Self-efficacy had a direct relationship with bystander behaviors. Results suggest that low-resource interventions have a modest effect on increasing bystander behaviors. However, higher resource interventions likely are needed for a larger impact, especially among students who already demonstrate strong baseline intentions to intervene and prevent dating violence.
How Organizations Communicate Expertise Without Experts
Authors: Treem Jeffrey W.
Published: March 2016

This work examines how knowledge-intensive firms that lack strong ties to professional groups, or exclusive jurisdiction in a technical domain, communicate organizational expertise. A practice-based view of organizational expertise is used to examine how workers accomplish expertise through recurrent practices, and the processes through which that expertise becomes performed to clients as organizational expertise. Drawing on fieldwork conducted at two public relations firms, analysis indicates the organizations performed expertise by using representations that demonstrated they provided valuable services that would be difficult for clients to otherwise obtain. Furthermore, the findings reveal how local practices used by workers to produce the representations inside the organizations were obscured to clients to facilitate performances of expertise at the organizational level.
Positioning Work Amid Discontinuities and Continuities
Authors: Long Ziyu , Buzzanell Patrice M. , Kuang Kai
Published: March 2016

This study explicated Post80s workers’ communicative constructions of work meanings guided by the dialogical self theory. Analyzing 33 in-depth interviews, we found Post80s workers constructed their work meanings regarding choice, development, and impact as they invoked individual and collective voices amid the discursive and material discontinuities and continuities of the emerging Chinese socio-economic landscape. Foregrounding meanings of work as dialogical co-constructions of different voices, the study unpacked the complex interplays of self–other, individual–collective processes, and past–present–future work values and experiences in the communicative constitutions of the Chinese paradigm shift of work. Theoretical contributions to meanings of work as tensional, dialogical constructions answer calls to more nuanced scholarly engagement with individual–organization–society problematics and generational cohorts locally and globally in organizational communication research.
Measuring Physical Capacity
Authors: Kasper Judith D. , Chan Kitty S. , Freedman Vicki A.
Published: March 2016

Objective: The objective of this study was to develop and assess a composite measure of physical capacity using self-report and physical performance items. Method: Item response theory (IRT) is used to evaluate measurement properties of self-report and performance items and to develop a composite measure for 7,609 participants in the National Health and Aging Trends Study. Results: Self-reports distinguish differences at the lower end of physical capacity but not at mid-to-high levels. Performance-based measures discriminate across a fuller spectrum. An IRT-based composite score, drawing on both, provides increased measurement precision across the physical capacity spectrum and detects age group differences if either self-report or performance does so—suggesting it is better suited for studying age-related changes than either measure alone. Discussion: Self-report and performance measures have different strengths on the physical capacity spectrum. IRT provides a means of combining these different measurement approaches for analyses of physical capacity across a broad range of functioning in later life.
Experimental investigation on noise radiation characteristics of pulse detonation turbine engine
Authors: Huang Xiqiao , Guo Zhuo , Liu Kai , Li Moqi , Zheng Longxi
Published: March 2016

The noise radiation characteristics of two-phase pulse detonation combustor and pulse detonation turbine engine were investigated under different operating frequencies utilizing gasoline as fuel and air as oxidizer. The sound pressure data of noise radiation were presented for both single-pulse detonation combustor tube and pulse detonation turbine engine. The experimental results implied that the peak sound pressure level of PDTE exit with inner diameter being 60 mm was about 157 dB under the operating frequencies which varied from 5 Hz to 25 Hz, while the peak sound pressure level of single-pulse detonation combustor tube exit was about 170 dB under the same condition. The far-field jet-noise measurements of the pulse detonation turbine engine showed that radial turbine interacting with the pulse detonation combustor could decrease the peak sound pressure level of pulse detonation combustor with the maximum acoustic attenuation being approximately 14.2 dB for the current test conditions, which could be contributed to the energy extraction by the radial turbine from the pulse detonation combustor exhaust flow. The sound pressure level of both pulse detonation combustor and pulse detonation turbine engine exit was function of directivity angle from the exhaust centerline. In all the experiments, the equivalence ratio of gasoline/air mixture and the fill fraction were 1.2 and 1.0, respectively.
Role of apolipoprotein B100 and oxidized low-density lipoprotein in the monocyte tissue factor induction mediated by anti-β2 glycoprotein I antibodies
Authors: Otomo K , Amengual O , Fujieda Y , Nakagawa H , Kato M , Oku K , Horita T , Yasuda S , Matsumoto M , Nakayama K I , Hatakeyama S , Koike T , Atsumi T
Published: March 2016

Objective

The objective of this paper is to elucidate the not yet known plasma molecule candidates involved in the induction of tissue factor (TF) expression mediated by β2GPI-dependent anticardiolipin antibody (aCL/β2GPI) on monocytes.

Methods

Human serum incubated with FLAG-β2GPI was applied for affinity chromatography with anti- FLAG antibody. Immunopurified proteins were analyzed by a liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC-MS). TF mRNA induced by the identified molecules on monocytes was also analyzed.

Results

Apolipoprotein B100 (APOB) was the only identified serum molecule in the MS search. Oxidized LDL, containing APOB as well as ox-Lig1 (a known ligand of β2GPI), was revealed as a β2GPI-binding molecule in the immunoprecipitation assay. TF mRNA was markedly induced by oxidized LDL/β2GPI complexes with either WBCAL-1 (monoclonal aCL/β2GPI) or purified IgG from APS patients. The activities of lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2, one of the component molecules of oxidized LDL, were significantly higher in serum from APS patients than in those from controls.

Conclusion

APOB (or oxidized LDL) was detected as a major β2GPI binding serum molecule by LC-MS search. Oxidized LDL/aCL/β2GPI complexes significantly induced TF expressions on monocytes. These data suggest that complexes of oxidized LDL and aCL/β2GPI may have a crucial role in the pathophysiology of APS.
Cross-cultural anger communication in music: Towards a stereotype theory of emotion in music
Authors: Susino Marco , Schubert Emery
Published: March 2016

Anger perception in music was investigated to determine if this emotion is cross-culturally decoded. A literature review of studies which investigated anger cross-culturally revealed variance between encoders and decoders. In an attempt to explain this variance, these data were examined using existing cross-cultural theories in music psychology, but each was poor in explaining some of the variance observed. For example, none were able to explain explicitly why anger expressed in Japanese music was poorly decoded by Indian, Japanese, and Swedish listeners. New interpretations of the published data were conducted through Hofstede’s cross-cultural dimensions theory and the theory of musical fit. Building on these theories, the Stereotype Theory of Emotion in Music (STEM) was proposed. According to STEM, listeners filter the emotion they perceive according to stereotypes of the encoding culture. For example, Japanese culture is stereotyped as an anger-reticent culture, explaining the low anger decoder ratings for ‘anger-encoded’ music. STEM suggests that anger perception is culturally influenced by a stereotyping process. The theory predicts that anger will be perceived if the decoding culture has no stereotype associated with the culture the music is believed to be from, leaving the music free to be interpreted through psychophysical or culture-specific cues. STEM presents a new way forward in understanding the cognitive processing of emotion in music.
Emotional and Behavioral Disorders in South Korea
Authors: Kim Joungmin , Kim Kyeong-hwa
Published: March 2016

In South Korea, there is no consensus on the definition of emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). This column focuses on how the definition has affected the prevalence rates and services available for students with EBDs. Of the legal, clinical, and educational definitions, the legal definition of EBDs is currently in common use, which raises two issues: First, using this definition results in limitations in terms of interventions for and understanding of EBDs. Second, the definition represents a departure from how EBDs have been used to classify children and adolescents for the purposes of prevention. In short, it was found that administrative adjustments of the legal agents are required and that mutual cooperation is needed between service professionals and reformers. The role of each expert is stressed in the establishment of a concrete definition and service delivery system.
Developing Handheld Video Intervention for Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder
Authors: Hughes Elizabeth M. , Yakubova Gulnoza
Published: March 2016

Video-based intervention (VBI) has strong evidence supporting efficiency in teaching social, communication, functional, behavior, play, and self-help skills and emerging evidence for teaching academic skills to students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). VBI allows opportunities to electronically provide personalized, consistent, and prerecorded instruction. Handheld devices, such as smartphones and tablets, make VBI portable for students. This article supports teachers who wish to implement VBI with their students with ASD by (a) describing types of VBI, such as video prompting, video modeling, video self-modeling, and point-of-view video modeling; (b) providing teachers with a 10-step guide to create, implement, and assess the success of the VBI; and (c) sharing a case-based example illustrating the versatility of VBI.
Race, disability, and grade: Social relationships in children with autism spectrum disorders
Authors: Azad Gazi F , Locke Jill , Kasari Connie , Mandell David S
Published: March 2016

Race is associated with social relationships among typically developing children; however, studies rarely examine the impact of race on social outcomes for children with autism spectrum disorder. This study examined how race (African American, Latino, Asian, or White) in conjunction with disability status (autism spectrum disorders or typically developing) and grade (grades K–2 or 3–5) affects friendships and social networks. The sample comprises 85 children with autism spectrum disorders and 85 typically developing controls matched on race, gender, age/grade, and classroom (wherever possible). Race, disability, and grade each had an independent effect on friendship nominations, and there was an interaction among the three variables. Specifically, children with autism spectrum disorders who were African American or Latino in the upper elementary grades received fewer friendship nominations than typically developing White children in the lower elementary grades. Only the presence of autism spectrum disorders was associated with social network centrality. Our results also suggested that Latino children with autism spectrum disorders in the upper elementary grades were at the highest risk of social isolation. Implications for re-conceptualizing social skills interventions are discussed.
Phonological category quality in the mental lexicon of child and adult learners
Authors: Simon Ellen , Sjerps Matthias J
Published: March 2016

Aims and objectives:

The aim was to identify which criteria children use to decide on the category membership of native and non-native vowels, and to get insight into the organization of phonological representations in the bilingual mind.

Methodology:

The study consisted of two cross-language mispronunciation detection tasks in which L2 vowels were inserted into L1 words and vice versa. In Experiment 1, 10- to 12-year-old Dutch-speaking children were presented with Dutch words which were either pronounced with the target Dutch vowel or with an English vowel inserted in the Dutch consonantal frame. Experiment 2 was a mirror of the first, with English words which were pronounced “correctly” or which were “mispronounced” with a Dutch vowel.

Data and analysis:

Analyses focused on extent to which child and adult listeners accepted substitutions of Dutch vowels by English ones, and vice versa.

Findings:

The results of Experiment 1 revealed that between the age of ten and twelve children have well-established phonological vowel categories in their native language. However, Experiment 2 showed that in their non-native language, children tended to accept mispronounced items which involve sounds from their native language. At the same time, though, they did not fully rely on their native phonemic inventory because the children accepted most of the correctly pronounced English items.

Originality:

While many studies have examined native and non-native perception by infants and adults, studies on first and second language perception of school-age children are rare. This study adds to the body of literature aimed at expanding our knowledge in this area.

Implications:

The study has implications for models of the organization of the bilingual mind: while proficient adult non-native listeners generally have clearly separated sets of phonological representations for their two languages, for non-proficient child learners the L1 phonology still exerts a strong influence on the L2 phonology.
‘Dude … stop the spread’: antagonism, agonism, and #manspreading on social media
Authors: Jane Emma A
Published: March 2016

Feminist campaigns on social media platforms have recently targeted ‘manspreading’ – a portmanteau describing men who sit in a way which fills multiple seats on public transport. Feminists claim this form of everyday sexism exemplifies male entitlement and have responded by posting candid online photographs of men caught manspreading. These ‘naming and shaming’ digilante strategies have been met with vitriolic responses from men’s rights activists. This article uses debates around manspreading to explore and appraise some key features of contemporary feminist activism online. Given the heat, amplification, and seemingly intractable nature of the argument, it investigates the usefulness of Chantal Mouffe’s agonistic pluralism to unpack the conflict. Ultimately, however, agonistic theory is found to have limits – in terms of this case study as well as more broadly. Some final thoughts are offered on how feminists might best navigate the pitfalls of online activism – including the problem of ‘false balance’ – going forward.
Long-term investigation of moisture environment in underground civil air defence work
Authors: Zhang Huibo , Liu Jing , Li Chunan , Lian Zhiwei
Published: March 2016

Moisture becomes problematic in underground civil air defence work because of heavy rusting of protection equipment, mould and construction deterioration. This study conducted long-term measurement of the heat and humidity environment in a residential and a non-residential underground civil air defence work in Beijing. The thermal environment was very stable at a good level except in some summer days in the non-residential civil air defence work because of moisture insulation in summer and straw board interior wall furnishing, whereas it was very severe and varied with changing outdoor conditions in the residential civil air defence work. The humidity environment in the residential civil air defence work was wet or very wet (RH > 80%) for over 20% of the year, which may cause mould growth and surface condensation, because of low indoor temperature in winter and occupant activities and natural ventilation in summer. The findings of this study may prove important in elucidating the formation mechanism of thermal environment in civil air defence work and to develop appropriate desiccant solutions.
Iterative emplotment scenarios: Being ‘the only Ethiopian’
Authors: Cohen Leor
Published: March 2016

The realism-social constructionism debate has been consequential over the last several decades. Silverstein’s vocabulary of micro-/macro-contexts aids in understanding why the tension can be a useful epistemological heuristic for discourse analysts. Narratives were collected in focus groups of Ethiopian-Israeli college students. Five narratives were selected for ethnic mentions and found to have a particular ‘iterative’ ‘emplotment scenario’ (IES) – recurrent storylines and settings – across tellers and telling events. ‘the only Ethiopian’ is an IES of being sent away to a majority-White elementary/secondary school, socially isolated and denigrated. How are we to understand it when a particular plotline and setting recur in our corpora? I argue that although each story and storytelling is unique, they all borrow from a larger-than-single-telling, already existent trope, that is, a budding master narrative. Taken together, a unique view of a particular socio-cultural process – in this case, something of what it means to be an Ethiopian Israeli – emerges.
Protecting badger setts – Where law and science clash
Authors: Agnew Crispin , Agnew Roseanna C. N.
Published: March 2016

This article examines the definition of a badger sett under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 which is: ‘any structure or place which displays signs indicating current use by a badger’. In McLintock v Harris 2015 SLT (Sh Ct) 26 the Sheriff held that ‘current use’ required the sett to be ‘in use at the present time’. This narrow interpretation is analysed against other case law and the Parliamentary intention taken from Hansard during the passage of the Badgers Act 1991. It concludes that the Sheriff’s interpretation accords with Parliament’s intention. A review of the scientific literature on how badgers ( Meles meles) use their main and secondary setts shows that setts which are not in ‘current use’ under the statutory definition, are used in rotation as an important part of badgers’ behaviour throughout the year. It is concluded that the statutory definition does not provide adequate protection for setts which has implications for badger welfare. The Nature Conservation bodies’ former licensing guidance used a wider interpretation of ‘current use’ in line with scientific literature; however, a more cautious approach is now being taken. The authors examine the scope for judicial review of the Nature Conservation bodies’ approach to the statutory definition. They recommend a definition that would protect badgers’ welfare but conclude that with the present controversy about the bovine tuberculosis cull, strong lobbying will be required to get the Westminster or Scottish Parliaments or the Welsh Assembly to amend the definition.
The Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015
Authors: Davies Haydn
Published: March 2016

In 2015, the Welsh Assembly passed the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act making it the first legislature in the world to enshrine in law a duty, falling on public bodies, to safeguard the well-being of future generations. The well-being duty is based on the principle of sustainable development and encompasses economic, social, environmental and cultural factors. Public sector duties are nothing new but this is the first which concerns the welfare of stakeholders who do not yet exist and hence require a guardian, in the shape of the Future Generations Commissioner. This paper discusses the nature and scope of the well-being duty and the extent to which it is an enforceable legal duty as opposed to an aspirational political duty. It is concluded that the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act has the potential to be a world-leading provision but its success in safeguarding the interests of future generations will depend heavily on the political will and the personalities of those tasked with holding public bodies to account.
A right to clean air in EU law? Using litigation to progress from procedural to substantive environmental rights
Authors: Taddei Ugo
Published: March 2016

European environmental NGOs increasingly resort to litigation as a tool to protect the environment. However, courts in the European Union often provide ‘a wide entrance, to a very small room’: the generous standing requirements available to the public under the Aarhus Convention clash with the narrow grounds for judicial review, which are limited to procedural issues. The recent history of clean air cases shows that litigation can push courts to review the substance of administrative decisions, overturning national legal traditions and, ultimately, leading to the development of a substantive right to a safe and healthy environment.
Forward dynamics of variable topology mechanisms—The case of constraint activation
Authors: Müller Andreas
Published: March 2016

Many mechanical systems exhibit changes in their kinematic topology altering the mobility. Ideal contact is the best known cause, but also stiction and controlled locking of parts of a mechanism lead to topology changes. The latter is becoming an important issue in human–machine interaction. Anticipating the dynamic behavior of variable topology mechanisms requires solving a nonsmooth dynamic problem. The core challenge is a physically meaningful transition condition at the topology switching events. Such a condition is presented in this article. Two versions are reported, one using projected motion equations in terms of redundant coordinates, and another one using the Voronets equations in terms of minimal coordinates. Their computational properties are discussed. Results are shown for joint locking of a planar 3R mechanisms and a 6DOF industrial manipulator.
Usurping the usable past: How Fox News remembered the Great Depression during the Great Recession
Authors: Peck Reece
Published: March 2016

This article examines how Fox News’ top-rated programs attempted to reshape the ‘collective memory’ of the Great Depression during the Great Recession. In their retelling of the Depression’s history, Fox News hosts proclaimed their kinship with the Depression generation and strove to present themselves as its modern standard bearers. Fox News’ rhetorical strategy involved shifting modes of analysis when treating past and present crises. On one hand, the principles of the Stimulus Act were presented as antithetical to the ‘producer ethic’ and values of the Depression generation. On the other hand, this same generation’s reliance on New Deal policies were de-politicized and turned into a technical question about the efficacy of Keynesian policy solutions. This article offers a multi-modal, textual analysis to reveal how Fox’s top shows executed this double-move to imply the recipients of stimulus aid in the Obama era are fundamentally different from ‘the Greatest Generation’.