bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The MicroRNA-328 Regulates Hypoxic Pulmonary Hypertension by Targeting at Insulin Growth Factor 1 Receptor and L-Type Calcium Channel-α1C
Authors: Guo Lei , Qiu Zhaoping , Wei Liuping , Yu Xiufeng , Gao Xu , Jiang Shulin , Tian Hai , Jiang Chun , Zhu Daling
Published: March 2012

Chronic hypoxia is the most common cause of secondary pulmonary hypertension, for which the mechanisms are still unclear. Recent studies implicated an important role for microRNAs (miRNAs) in hypoxia-mediated responses in various cellular processes, including cell apoptosis and proliferation. Therefore, we hypothesized that these regulatory molecules might be implicated in the etiology of hypoxic pulmonary hypertension. Here we show that miRNA-328, a posttranscriptional regulator, was drastically downregulated in the pulmonary artery (PA) after a hypoxic assault. PA rings, Western blot, quantitative real-time PCR, in situ hybridization, and luciferase assay were used to investigate the role of miRNA-328 in hypoxic pulmonary hypertension. We found that hypoxia produced a significant inhibition of miRNA-328 expression, which was involved in PA vasoconstriction and remodeling. Overexpressing miRNA-328 in the transgenic mice remarkably decreased the right ventricular systolic pressure and PA wall thickness under both normoxia and hypoxia. MiRNA-328 inhibited L-type calcium channel-α1C expression through a miRNA-328 binding site within the 3′ untranslational region of L-type calcium channel-α1C. The L-type calcium channel-α1C inhibition attenuated the PA response to KCl. Furthermore, miRNA-328 suppressed the insulin growth factor 1 receptor, ultimately leading to apoptosis of pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells. The posttranscriptional repression of L-type calcium channel-α1C and insulin growth factor 1 receptor was further confirmed by luciferase reporter assay. These results showed that miRNA-328, an important protecting factor, plays a significant role in PA constriction and remodeling by regulating multiple gene targets in hypoxic pulmonary hypertension.
The Path to Memory Is Guided by Strategy: Distinct Networks Are Engaged in Associative Encoding under Visual and Verbal Strategy and Influence Memory Performance in Healthy and Impaired Individuals
Authors: Hales Jena B. , Brewer James B.
Published: March 2012

Given the diversity of stimuli encountered in daily life, a variety of strategies must be used for learning new information. Relating and encoding visual and verbal stimuli into memory has been probed using various tasks and stimulus types. Engagement of specific subsequent memory and cortical processing regions depends on the stimulus modality of studied material; however, it remains unclear whether different encoding strategies similarly influence regional activity when stimulus type is held constant. In this study, participants encoded object pairs using a visual or verbal associative strategy during fMRI, and subsequent memory was assessed for pairs encoded under each strategy. Each strategy elicited distinct regional processing and subsequent memory effects: middle/superior frontal, lateral parietal, and lateral occipital for visually associated pairs and inferior frontal, medial frontal, and medial occipital for verbally associated pairs. This regional selectivity mimics the effects of stimulus modality, suggesting that cortical involvement in associative encoding is driven by strategy and not simply by stimulus type. The clinical relevance of these findings, probed in a patient with a recent aphasic stroke, suggest that training with strategies utilizing unaffected cortical regions might improve memory ability in patients with brain damage.
Local Field Potential Activity Associated with Temporal Expectations in the Macaque Lateral Intraparietal Area
Authors: Premereur Elsie , Vanduffel Wim , Janssen Peter
Published: March 2012

Oscillatory brain activity is attracting increasing interest in cognitive neuroscience. Numerous EEG (magnetoencephalography) and local field potential (LFP) measurements have related cognitive functions to different types of brain oscillations, but the functional significance of these rhythms remains poorly understood. Despite its proven value, LFP activity has not been extensively tested in the macaque lateral intraparietal area (LIP), which has been implicated in a wide variety of cognitive control processes. We recorded action potentials and LFPs in area LIP during delayed eye movement tasks and during a passive fixation task, in which the time schedule was fixed so that temporal expectations about task-relevant cues could be formed. LFP responses in the gamma band discriminated reliably between saccade targets and distractors inside the receptive field (RF). Alpha and beta responses were much less strongly affected by the presence of a saccade target, however, but rose sharply in the waiting period before the go signal. Surprisingly, conditions without visual stimulation of the LIP-RF-evoked robust LFP responses in every frequency band—most prominently in those below 50 Hz—precisely time-locked to the expected time of stimulus onset in the RF. These results indicate that in area LIP, oscillations in the LFP, which reflect synaptic input and local network activity, are tightly coupled to the temporal expectation of task-relevant cues.
Granting Citizenship-related Rights to Third-Country Nationals: An Alternative to the Full Extension of European Union Citizenship?
Authors: Wiesbrock Anja
Published: March 2012

Abstract

This article discusses the extension of citizenship-related rights to third-country nationals (TCNs) and their analogous interpretation with the rights enjoyed by European Union citizens. Starting with a discussion of the limited possibilities of fully extending Union citizenship to TCNs, it proceeds to discuss the Court’s case law regarding the application of EU general principles of law to TCNs and the interpretation of Union law concepts. It is argued that granting TCNs citizenship-related rights, such as the right to move freely within the EU and the right to non-discrimination on grounds of nationality, and their analogous interpretation with the rights enjoyed by Union citizens constitute a viable alternative to the full extension of Union citizenship.
Electoral Conflict and Justice: The Case of Zimbabwe
Authors: Nyamutata Conrad
Published: March 2012

Abstract

In recent years, Africa has faced a new form of conflict arising from disputed elections. Incumbents have refused to vacate office after apparently losing elections, triggering violent conflict. Regional organisations have invested considerable political energy to manage these conflicts. Post-electoral conflict accords (PECAs) resulting in power-sharing have been the favoured modus vivendi with regional mediators. However, little attention has been paid to the crucial issue of justice in the management of these disputes. Like most conflicts, electoral conflict centres on perceived injustice in the electoral process. Therefore, in order to manage these conflicts in an effective way, justice must be acknowledged in both procedural and substantive content. This article focuses on management of electoral conflict in Zimbabwe. It argues that the protracted post-electoral conflict in Zimbabwe can be explained, to a large extent, through failure to acknowledge procedural, distributive and retributive justice concerns.
Josephus’ Account of John the Baptist: A Christian Interpolation?
Authors: Nir Rivka
Published: March 2012

This essay provides fresh insight into the possibility that the passage in Josephus about John the Baptist (Jewish Antiquities, 18.116-119) was not written by Josephus himself. In making the case for its interpolation or adaptation by the hand of a writer representing an early Christian or Jewish-Christian sect, the essay focuses on how the text describes John's baptism and its distinguishing characteristics as well as the similarities it shares with immersions common amid early Christian or Jewish-Christian sects. Of particular importance to uncovering the theological identity of this baptism is its description as an external physical purification, whose efficacy is preconditioned by inner spiritual purification. This essay shows that baptism of this nature did not exist amid mainstream Jewish circles of the Second Temple period. Such baptism appeared and developed within sectarian groups on the margins of Judaism, as at Qumran. It was then carried on and practised by early Christian or Jewish-Christian groups in the first centuries ce.
Arab Revolutions and the Iranian Uprising: Similarities and Differences
Authors: Khiabany Gholam
Published: March 2012

A year and a half after the Iranian uprising in 2009, the unprecedented popular uprisings in several Arab countries at the beginning of 2011 provided some of the most evocative moments when power met its opposite, in decisive and surprising ways. In a matter of weeks, some of the most powerful hereditary/republican regimes in the region, such as Tunisia’s and Egypt’s, crumbled under relentless pressure and opposition from highly mediated “street politics” that shook the foundations of authoritarian and repressive rule, undermining hegemonic structures and configurations of power within nation sates and between nations. Technology, as in the case of Iranian uprising, emerged as one of the main explanations on offer to make sense of this new wave of revolts against tyranny. The revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt in particular, inevitably drew some comparisons with the Iranian uprising of 2009. The most significant question for many Iranians was how come that the two revolts in Iran and Tunisia which immediately and rather simplistically labelled as ‘Twitter revolution’ had a totally different outcome? Many in Iran started raising such searching questions: “Chera Tunis Toonest v ma natoonestim?” (Why Tunisia could and we couldn’t) or “toonestan az Tunis miad”! (Capability comes from Tunis). So how can we compare Arab Revolutions with that of situation in Iran? What the different outcomes tell us about the similarities and the differences, and what lessons can be learnt? This paper takes a broader comparative frame, beyond technology, to explore the issue of power and revolutions and to examine the similarities as well as the differences between Iran and the Arab World.
Continuous Single-Column Model Evaluation at a Permanent Meteorological Supersite
Authors: Neggers R. A. J. , Siebesma A. P. , Heus T.
Published: March 2012

Uncertainties in numerical predictions of weather and climate are often linked to the representation of unresolved processes that act relatively quickly compared to the resolved general circulation. These processes include turbulence, convection, clouds, and radiation. Single-column model (SCM) simulation of idealized cases and the subsequent evaluation against large-eddy simulation (LES) results has become an often used and relied on method to obtain insight at process level into the behavior of such parameterization schemes; benefits of SCM simulation are the enhanced model transparency and the high computational efficiency. Although this approach has achieved demonstrable success, some shortcomings have been identified; among these, i) the statistical significance and relevance of single idealized case studies might be questioned and ii) the use of observational datasets has been relatively limited. A recently initiated project named the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) Parameterization Testbed (KPT) is part of a general move toward a more statistically significant process-level evaluation, with the purpose of optimizing the identification of problems in general circulation models that are related to parameterization schemes. The main strategy of KPT is to apply continuous long-term SCM simulation and LES at various permanent meteorological sites, in combination with comprehensive evaluation against observations at multiple time scales. We argue that this strategy enables the reproduction of typical long-term mean behavior of fast physics in large-scale models, but it still preserves the benefits of single-case studies (such as model transparency). This facilitates the tracing and understanding of errors in parameterization schemes, which should eventually lead to a reduction of related uncertainties in numerical predictions of weather and climate.
Wind Waves in the Coupled Climate System
Authors: Cavaleri L. , Fox-Kemper B. , Hemer M.
Published: March 2012

The role waves play in modulating interactions between oceans and atmosphere is emphasized. All exchanges (e.g., momentum, energy, heat, mass, radiation fluxes) are influenced by the geometrical and physical characteristics of the ocean surface, which separates the atmospheric and oceanic boundary layers. A qualitative overview of the main relevant surface gravity wave–driven processes at the air–sea interface that may have an important role in the coupled climate system in general and the atmospheric and oceanic boundary layers in particular is provided.
The North American Regional Climate Change Assessment Program: Overview of Phase I Results
Authors: Mearns Linda O. , Arritt Ray , Biner Sébastien , Bukovsky Melissa S. , McGinnis Seth , Sain Stephan , Caya Daniel , Correia James , Flory Dave , Gutowski William , Takle Eugene S. , Jones Richard , Leung Ruby , Moufouma-Okia Wilfran , McDaniel Larry , Nunes Ana M. B. , Qian Yun , Roads John , Sloan Lisa , Snyder Mark
Published: March 2012

The North American Regional Climate Change Assessment Program (NARCCAP) is an international effort designed to investigate the uncertainties in regional-scale projections of future climate and produce highresolution climate change scenarios using multiple regional climate models (RCMs) nested within atmosphere–ocean general circulation models (AOGCMs) forced with the Special Report on Emission Scenarios (SRES) A2 scenario, with a common domain covering the conterminous United States, northern Mexico, and most of Canada. The program also includes an evaluation component (phase I) wherein the participating RCMs, with a grid spacing of 50 km, are nested within 25 years of National Centers for Environmental Prediction–Department of Energy (NCEP–DOE) Reanalysis II.

This paper provides an overview of evaluations of the phase I domain-wide simulations focusing on monthly and seasonal temperature and precipitation, as well as more detailed investigation of four subregions. The overall quality of the simulations is determined, comparing the model performances with each other as well as with other regional model evaluations over North America. The metrics used herein do differentiate among the models but, as found in previous studies, it is not possible to determine a “best” model among them. The ensemble average of the six models does not perform best for all measures, as has been reported in a number of global climate model studies. The subset ensemble of the two models using spectral nudging is more often successful for domain-wide root-mean-square error (RMSE), especially for temperature. This evaluation phase of NARCCAP will inform later program elements concerning differentially weighting the models for use in producing robust regional probabilities of future climate change.
A Conceptual Model for the Identification of Active Red Sea Trough Synoptic Events over the Southeastern Mediterranean
Authors: Krichak Simon O. , Breitgand Joseph S. , Feldstein Steven B.
Published: March 2012

A phenomenon characterized by a tongue of low pressure extending northward from the southern Red Sea [Red Sea Trough (RST)] toward the eastern Mediterranean Sea (EM) is analyzed. In general, the RST is associated with hot and dry weather, resulting from east-southeasterly flows in the lower troposphere. In some cases, the RST is found to be accompanied by an upper-tropospheric trough extending from the north over the EM. Such conditions are associated with unstable stratification, favoring the development of mesoscale convective systems. This kind of RST has been defined as an “active” RST (ARST). The ARST phenomenon represents a serious threat to human society in the northeastern Africa–southeastern Mediterranean region, being in some cases associated with devastating floods. In this study, a conceptual model of the ARST phenomenon is discussed, and then an algorithm for the identification of ARST events is presented. The identification algorithm has been applied to a multiyear NCEP–NCAR reanalysis data archive for both RST and ARST events. From the results of a composite analysis of several different atmospheric flow parameters associated with ARST events, the key features associated with ARST events are identified. The results from the analysis of the composite patterns support the suggestion that high amounts of moisture transported from tropical Africa in the form of an atmospheric river to the Red Sea–EM play a key role in determining the intensity of the ARST events.
Projection of Tropical Cyclones on Wavenumber–Frequency-Filtered Equatorial Waves
Authors: Aiyyer Anantha , Mekonnen Ademe , Schreck Carl J.
Published: March 2012

The impact of localized convection associated with tropical cyclones (TCs) on activity ascribed to equatorial waves is estimated. An algorithm is used to remove outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) signal in the vicinity of observed tropical cyclones, and equatorial wave modes are extracted using the standard wavenumber–frequency decomposition method. The results suggest that climatological activity of convection-coupled equatorial waves is overestimated where TC tracks are densest. The greatest impact is found for equatorial Rossby (ER)- and tropical depression (TD)-type waves followed by the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO). The basins most affected are the eastern and western North Pacific Ocean where, on average, TCs may contribute up to 10%–15% of the climatological wave amplitude variance in these modes. In contrast, Kelvin waves are least impacted by the projection of TCs. The results are likely relevant for studies on the climatology of equatorial waves in observations and global climate model simulations and for those examining individual cases of TC genesis modulated by equatorial wave activity.
An Evaluation of Acoustic Doppler Velocimeters as Sensors to Obtain the Concentration of Suspended Mass in Water
Authors: Russo Clementina R. , Boss Emmanuel S.
Published: March 2012

During the last two decades, acoustic Doppler velocimeters (ADVs) and other acoustic sensors have been used by researchers in the ocean science community to acquire information on current velocity and turbulence. More recently, acoustic backscatter systems (ABS) and acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs) have been investigated for their use in determining sediment concentrations and particle sizes. Acoustic systems tend to be less prone to biofouling than optical turbidity sensors, and the high-frequency velocity measurements allow for a direct estimation of turbulence by the flux of particulate materials.

This work investigates the responses of two commercially available ADVs to changes in mass concentrations of particles. A careful laboratory characterization of each sensor’s response to concentrations of three different size classes of polymer beads is evaluated and compared with the predicted response from acoustic scattering theory. Within uncertainties, experimental results are shown to agree with theory and these results demonstrate that, if the basic acoustic properties of the scatterers are known or if a local, vicarious calibration is performed, then ADV-type sensors can provide a robust estimate of particle concentrations from the measured acoustic return.
Orographic Effects and Evaporative Cooling along a Subtropical Cold Front: The Case of the Spectacular Saharan Dust Outbreak of March 2004
Authors: Gläser Gregor , Knippertz Peter , Heinold Bernd
Published: March 2012

On 2 March 2004 a marked upper-level trough and an associated surface cold front penetrated into the Sahara. High winds along and behind this frontal system led to an extraordinary, large-scale, and long-lived dust outbreak, accompanied by significant precipitation over parts of Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya.

This paper uses sensitivity simulations with the limited-area model developed by the Consortium for Small-Scale Modeling (COSMO) together with analysis data and surface observations to test several hypotheses on the dynamics of this case proposed in previous work. It is demonstrated that air over central Algeria is cooled by evaporation of frontal precipitation, substantially enhancing winds at the leading edge of the cold front. This process is supported by very dry low-level air in the lee of the Atlas Mountains associated with a foehn situation. Flattening the mountain chain in a sensitivity experiment, however, has complex effects on the wind. While reduced evaporative cooling weakens the front, the elimination of the orographic blocking accelerates its penetration into the Sahara. The simulations also indicate high winds associated with a hydraulic jump at the southern slopes of the Tell Atlas.

Feeding the simulated winds into a dust emission parameterization reveals reduced emissions on the order of 20%–30% for suppressed latent heating and even more when effects of the increased precipitation on soil moisture are considered. In the experiment with the Atlas removed, effects of the overall increase in high winds are compensated by an increase in precipitation. The results suggest that a realistic representation of frontal precipitation is an important requisite to accurately model dust emission in such situations.
Darfur and the Politicization of International Law: Genocide or Crimes against Humanity?
Authors: Rothe Dawn L. , Mullins Christopher W.
Published: March 2012

The humanitarian crisis in Darfur has slowly captivated international public, governmental, and media attention. With at least two million persons displaced and an estimated 400,000 killed,1 it is one of the many grave crises of failed states currently occurring within Africa. The people of the region have faced murder, displacement, rape, and banditry at the hands of the Sudanese government, the state-supported Janjaweed, and other militia groups, most notably the Sudan Liberation Army. Yet the United Nations concluded after a fact-finding mission to the region that these widespread atrocities did not constitute genocide but rather were defined as crimes against humanity. This article provides a brief overview of the background and contemporary state of the situation as well as a legal examination of the nature of genocide in international law and the United Nation Security Council's rationale for applying the label of crimes against humanity. The chief purpose of the article is to clearly differentiate the two concepts of genocide and crimes against humanity and to thoroughly examine the practical difference a definition makes.
Reparations, Social Reconciliation, and the Significance of Place: A Legal and Philosophical Examination of Indigenous Cases in the United States and Their Global Implications
Authors: Fraley Jill M.
Published: March 2012

During genocide, populations are frequently displaced from their homelands. In the process of reparations, displacement is often viewed as a problem of shelter, food, and safety. In this framework, land is treated as an economic commodity—any given piece of land is interchangeable with another or for money. This approach is a product of Enlightenment thinking, which emphasizes the rights of the individual over communal rights to land, and conceptualizes land and social identity as strongly separated. This Enlightenment framework of rights, and the accompanying de-emphasis of place, is particularly strong in the United States. Because American legal principles have played a substantial role in the development of human rights laws internationally, there are global implications for how American courts understand land and displacement. By examining Native American claims for land and sovereignty, this essay explores the philosophical and legal understandings of land and culture that are endorsed by American courts. The themes found in American litigation of indigenous land claims are likely to permeate American foreign policy and our involvement in reparations issues internationally. If the American de-emphasis of land continues internationally, effective reparations are unlikely. Homelands are not an interchangeable economic commodity precisely because social identity is not separate from land, but rather rooted firmly in a particular place. When victims of genocide are able to reclaim homelands, there is the possibility of truly effective reparations, particularly achieving the goal of stabilizing and repairing social identity.
Walk along My Mind: Space, Mobility, and the Significance of Place
Authors: Fraley Jill M.
Published: March 2012

In America mobility is seen as a measure of success, especially for persons born in rural areas, who are assumed to want to “move on up” as soon as possible. This pressure toward both social and spatial mobility is especially strong when the birthplace is an oppressed region such as Appalachia. Ironically, while the rest of the world has disowned Appalachia, the residents of the mountains have repeatedly proclaimed the significance of cultural investment in land. This article approaches the concept of place, illuminating several variations on the theme, while particularly illustrating the strength of place claimed by Appalachia.
The Discourse of Dog Fighting
Authors: Kalof Linda , Taylor Carl
Published: March 2012

In this essay, we discuss dog fighting as a blood sport with a history embedded in the status-driven display of masculinity, power and violence. Based on published reports and interviews with those living and working in dog fighting neighborhoods, we show that the contemporary cultural knowledge of dog fighting is a discourse with multiple meanings: for those who pit dogs against each other, for the worried public, for those who are charged with law enforcement, and for the dogs themselves. We conclude with an argument that the discourse of dog fighting might best be approached from the perspective of green criminology with a focus on those who are most abused by the crime: the fighting dogs.
The Human Costs of Worker Displacement
Authors: Hironimus-Wendt Robert J.
Published: March 2012

This study addresses the personal and familial consequences associated with the worker displacement that followed the closing of the Bridegstone/Firestone tire production plant in Decatur, Illinois, in December of 2001. A series of three surveys were sent to the last known addresses of all former Firestone workers. The first was sent immediately after the closure of the Decatur plant; the others went out six months and one year later. The surveys solicited job search information as well as personal and familial costs associated with the plant closing. Focus group interviews were held throughout the year and provided a rich context for the survey data. The results of this two-pronged approach reveal the human costs faced by displaced workers. I argue that economic development plans need to prioritize enhancing worker productivity through ongoing training programs and prioritize direct assistance of displaced and dislocated workers and their families. I conclude with recommendations about how to diminish the burdens on displaced workers.
Nourishing Our Roots: Voices from AHS's First Five Years
Authors: Petonito Gina
Published: March 2012

Drawing from email interviews of 15 individuals who had been Association for Humanist Sociology (AHS) members during the first five years of its existence, supplementary interviews and research, this keynote address presents three themes in three performative acts. The first is a long forgotten story of AHS's founding. The second act chronicles issues that occupied AHSer's during its early years, and the final theme draws from the past to project to the future. Following in the footsteps of Dwight Conquergood, the author crafted the data into a performance that was delivered at the 2007 Annual Meeting of the association. The author played most roles, with audience members participating at various points to create a social drama blurring the distinction between audience and performer. This work challenges the reader to question the role of the objective researcher, the nature of memory and history, and the ways history can help us shape a future.
Branch Banking and Institutional Racism in the U.S. Banking Industry
Authors: Morris Theresa
Published: March 2012

Studies abound documenting racial disparity in mortgage lending, yet lenders insist that they do not use race in their decision-making process, but rather rely upon credit scores as an objective financial predictor of an applicant's ability to repay a loan. However, I suggest that because on average blacks and Latinos have lower credit scores than whites (Sheila D. Ards and Samuel L. Myers, Jr. 2001; Stephen Ross and John Yinger 2002; Federal Reserve Board 2007), using credit scores as a primary determinant of loan approval results in an increased likelihood of minorities having loans denied, an example of institutional racism. I suggest and find empirical support for the suggestion that this type of institutional racism has been exacerbated by the U.S. banking industry's move from unit banking to branch banking.
Reciprocal Obligations in the Social Capital Resource Exchanges of Diverse Groups
Authors: Parks-Yancy Rochelle , DiTomaso Nancy , Post Corinne
Published: March 2012

This paper theorizes how reciprocal obligations that are inherent in social capital resource exchanges work for groups defined by gender, class and race. When one receives favors, there is generally an expectation that the favor will be returned either to the group as a whole or to the individual who extended the favor. While these ideas are discussed in the social capital literature, insufficient attention has been given to how these processes may differ for groups defined by gender, class and race and how these differences affect the groups' socioeconomic circumstances. This paper provides theoretical clarity to these issues.
The Greatest Generation Revisited: Conscientious Objectors and the “Good War”
Authors: Rogne Leah
Published: March 2012

More than 60 years after the end of Second World War, a strong, consistent metanarrative has evolved regarding the World War II generation. Heralding the special qualities of the World War II cohort's patriotism, tenacity, hard work, and sacrifice, journalist Tom Brokaw called it “the greatest generation any society has produced” (Brokaw 1998: xxx). Fighting in the war is seen as the defining moment of that generation. Left out of the narrative are the stories of those who refused to fight, conscientious objectors and war resisters who stood against the tide to oppose the “good war.” This article shares the wartime stories of three conscientious objectors who refused to fight in World War II. First, I briefly review the social and political context in which these individuals made the decision to resist. Then I share each man's story, focusing on the pre-war socialization that shaped their ideas about peace and war, the process of making the decision to resist, and the experience during the war. Finally, I touch briefly on the post-war activity of World War II conscientious objectors and war resisters and their cultural contribution to the modern peace and justice movement in the United States.
“We are the Union”: Care Work, Unions, and Social Movements
Authors: Duffy Mignon
Published: March 2012

This article explores the potential confluences between the labor movement and calls for a “care movement.” Scholars of care work focus on the paid and unpaid labor that provides for the health, education, and well-being of a society—including taking care of children as well as those who are ill or elderly. Using care as a frame for thinking about social change has the potential to be part of a renewed labor movement, and in this paper, I describe three different ways of conceptualizing care as part of union organizing as well as of a more broadly defined labor movement. Do low-wage care workers represent the new face of the “working class”? Or does “care work” represent a broad occupational category that unites workers on the basis of that shared experience across traditional class boundaries? Perhaps the concept of care offers the possibility of uniting workers even more broadly on the basis of their shared family and community needs? I argue that labor scholars and activists could make important conceptual and strategic gains by linking to the idea of care in all three of these ways. In particular, the notion that all workers should have the right to care could be a powerful discourse in efforts to expand union participation and labor's impact on far-reaching social change.
Cape Fear and the Verdict: Law, Morality and Violence
Authors: Turkel Gerald
Published: March 2012

As a staple feature of popular culture, films shape our everyday understandings and expectations of relationships among law and violence. This paper compares two films, Cape Fear (1992) and The Verdict (1982). The analysis focuses on moral, jurisprudential and social meanings through which narratives provide validity and legitimacy for consenting to law and limiting violence. These films provide sharply different narratives of the capacity of law to control, direct, and limit violence. At one extreme, Cape Fear shows the total absence of legal validity, a descent to anomie and the eruption of violence. At the other end of the continuum, The Verdict demonstrates how, despite their imperfections, legal institutions provide a setting for realizing shared morality, establishing solidarity and truth, and exposing and limiting violence. By analyzing these films, we can more fully realize that our expectations of law to limit violence cannot be isolated from broader issues of solidarity, morality and social relations.
The News Media, the Conservative Echo Chamber, and the Battle over ACORN: How Two Academics Fought in the Framing Wars
Authors: Dreier Peter , Martin Christopher R.
Published: March 2012

This paper examines the evolution of a major national political controversy, how the media handled it, and how the authors participated in it. The controversy involved the community organizing group ACORN, which conservatives generally, and the Republican Party in particular, sought to demonize and weaken, before, during, and after the 2008 Presidential election, in order to undermine ACORN's voter registration efforts, help elect GOP candidates, and, after the election, delegitimize President Barack Obama and his liberal policy agenda. Interested in how the mainstream media, as well as the conservative echo chamber (TV and radio talk shows, blogs and websites, publications, and think tanks), reported and created a “controversy,” the authors conducted a rigorous content analysis of media coverage of the ACORN, examining how the controversy got on the public agenda and, once there, how mainstream media “framed” the story in ways that reflected the conservative perspective. By the time the report was released in September 2009, the story had reached a peak and become a highly visible topic of national political debate. As a result, the authors became embroiled in the controversy — interviewed by media reporters, invited to discuss their report on TV and radio talk shows, and criticized by conservative publications and bloggers. The article reviews the controversy, the report's key findings, and how the authors negotiated their first-hand engagement in this “framing war.”
The Symbolic Power of Color: Constructions of Race, Skin-Color, and Identity in Brazil
Authors: Mikulak Marcia L.
Published: March 2012

Some current cultural anthropologists define race as a social construct, yet explorations of the socio-historical constructions that give form and structure to racial identities perpetuating notions of “race” are rarely discussed. This study explores the theory of racial formations proposed by Michael Omi and Howard Winant as it applies to Brazil's racial project, arguing that Brazil's rhetoric on race and national identity during the late 19th to early 20th century culminated in a racial project ultimately known as democracia racial. As a result, I propose that Brazilian racial consciousness is symbolically pluralistic, encompassing race, social class, and social position, generating a particularly virulent, yet silent form of racism. I expand upon racial formation theory through analysis of my fieldwork carried out in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerias, in 2004. This analysis illustrates how contemporary Brazilian social structure and daily cultural discourses on race, skin-color, racial identity, and social marginalization reflect the nation's early racist ideology, yet contest its reality. Informants discuss self-identifications of skin-color, the meanings attributed to color tonalities, and the impact racism has on their daily lives.
The Sociology of Birth and Death: An Interview with Maurice R. Stein
Authors: Dandaneau Steven P. , East Elizabeth A.
Published: March 2012

Over six decades of teaching sociology, Maurice R. Stein (since 2002 retired from Brandeis University), pioneered and developed an experimental “Sociology of Birth and Death.” The course emphasized peer education, active learning, and transformative education in the liberal arts informed by the classic tradition of sociology. In order to document and elaborate on the nature of the course for the benefit of today's instructors of sociology, Dandaneau interviewed Stein on June 10 and 11, 2009, in Stein's Cambridge, Massachusetts, home, and Dandaneau and East followed up with telephone interviews on November 21, 2009, and on January 29, February 5, February 12, and February 25, 2010. The following is an edited transcription of these conversations.
Reclaiming the Body, Birthing at Home: Knowledge, Power, and Control in Childbirth
Authors: Moore Sara B.
Published: March 2012

In the following essay I draw on existing literature to suggest that homebirth represents the convergence of knowledge, power, and control during pregnancy, labor, and delivery. I pay particular attention to the ways in which working-class women are disadvantaged by the medicalized model of childbirth and are less likely to acquire extensive knowledge about birth, less likely to feel as though they have power over their own birthing experiences, and less likely to exercise control over obstetric interventions and their birth environments. This is a problem that is, on the one hand, caused by a problematic health care system and inadequately staffed public health clinics and, on the other, a model of childbirth that values medicalized birth knowledge over embodied birth knowledge. I argue that all women can and should be made more aware of the various birthing options that are available to them so they can make birthing decisions that are not based solely on fears of obstetric dysfunction. I also encourage birth activists to explore the relationship between social class and birth options so their advocacy efforts can better address women's needs.
Hybrid Masculine Power: Reconceptualizing the Relationship between Homosociality and Hegemonic Masculinity
Authors: Arxer Steven L.
Published: March 2012

Most research on heterosexual interaction among men focuses on ideologies, discourses, and practices that correspond to conventional renditions of hegemonic masculinity. Specifically, previous research suggests heterosexual men in homosocial interaction tend to suppress non-hegemonic meanings in constructing a sense of masculinity. Less attention has been given, however, to the ways in which men in homosocial settings conceptualize and negotiate with masculine ideals so as to produce a “hybrid” form of hegemonic masculinity that appropriates non-hegemonic practices. This study examines the production of hybrid hegemonic masculinity through participant observation of men in the social setting of a college bar. Results show that although men did align themselves with conventional hegemonic masculinity, they also incorporated gender practices associated with non-hegemonic masculinities. Interestingly, men often engaged in emotive sharing and preferred cooperation to competition as strategies in small group interaction for reproducing domination over women and subordinate masculinities. The argument is made that hybrid hegemonic masculinity may signal a shift in the landscape of hegemonic masculine power that increasingly appropriates alternative masculinities as a way to protect and reproduce gendered power and privilege.
Title IX and the School Experiences of Pregnant and Mothering Students
Authors: Erdmans Mary Patrice
Published: March 2012

This article examines why pregnant and mothering students did or did not stay in high school to see whether schools violated Title IX legislation by not providing equal educational opportunities. Examining life-story interviews conducted in 2002–2004 with 62 black, white, and Latina pregnant and mothering students in Connecticut, the author found that (1) while school policies and faculty were often hostile and unreceptive, mothers who dropped out were usually disengaged from school before pregnancy; (2) the presence or absence of school-based day care was a critical factor in school outcomes; and (3) alternative programs for pregnant and mothering students were experienced differently depending on whether students came from urban or nonurban school districts. In conclusion, the author argues that when our attention shifts from teen mothers to the problems of underfunded and overburdened schools, we are confronted with the larger systemic problems of economic and racial segregation and consequently educational inequality.
An Evaluation of the Beyond High School Model on the Self- Determination of Students With Intellectual Disability
Authors: Palmer Susan B. , Wehmeyer Michael L. , Shogren Karrie A. , Williams-Diehm Kendra L. , Soukup Jane H.
Published: March 2012

Students with intellectual disability are often served in community-based services to promote effective adult outcomes in employment, community inclusion, and independent living (Gaumer, Morningstar & Clark (2004). Beyond High School (Wehmeyer, Garner, Lawrence, Yeager, & Davis, 2006), a multi-stage model to promote student involvement in educational planning, was effectively used by 109 students with mild and moderate levels of intellectual disability between 17.8 and 21 years of age to increase student abilities. Results are discussed in regard to improved transition opportunities for individuals with intellectual disability such as those afforded through post-secondary education.
Analysis of the pressure distribution in spline couplings
Authors: Cuffaro Vincenzo , Curà Francesca , Mura Andrea
Published: March 2012

Spline couplings used in aerospace applications, supporting very high specific power, need an accurate design in order to reduce the weight and to avoid failure mechanisms as fretting fatigue. One of the influence parameters of this kind of phenomena is the pressure distribution on the teeth surface. In this article, the pressure distribution on spline coupling teeth has been investigated by means of analytical approaches and experimental techniques. In particular, the contact pressure distribution between the teeth in axial direction, obtained by means of analytical models available in literature, has been compared with both experimental data and finite element method models. The experimental pressure distribution has been obtained thanks to a special film, capable of changing colour intensity with the pressure variation, and a dedicated software relating the colour intensity to the pressure level. A dedicated workbench has been set-up and a special spline shaft has been created in order to well fit the pressure measurements.
Peculiar features of electrical resistivity and phase structure in 3-D porous nitinol after selective laser sintering/melting process
Authors: Shishkovsky Igor , Sherbakoff Vladimir , Yadroitsev Igor , Smurov Igor
Published: March 2012

The main goal of this study is the peculiarities of shape memory effect in a porous nickel–titanium (NiTi intermetallic phase referred to as nitinol) fabricated via the selective laser sintering/melting process. The phase and structural transformation behaviour of the intermetallide is characterized by means of the scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray and X-ray analysis. The effect of the laser sintering parameters and additional heating on the phase content and the thermal dependence of the electrical resistivity are discussed. Peaks and bulbs of the electrical resistivity are found to correspond to the start and finish temperatures of the austenite-to-martensite and reverse phase transitions, and this discovery can be useful for the shape memory effect estimation and optimization. Advantages and shortcomings in the application of this porous material as biological microelectromechanical systems are briefly considered.
The founding of modern simulation/gaming
Authors: Crookall David
Published: March 2012

This editorial first touches on the early days of simulation/gaming. It then traces the links between International Simulation and Gaming Association (ISAGA) and Simulation & Gaming ( S&G) up until the 2009 ISAGA conference in Singapore. The links are, of course, provided through people, who were active in both the organization and the journal. The joint contributions were of several kinds, including conference organization, conference presentations, journal articles, and journal symposia. A list of previous ISAGA conferences is provided. This article thus contributes some elements toward a more complete portrait of the development of the discipline.
Viscoplastic damage model for austenitic stainless steel and its application to the crack propagation problem at cryogenic temperatures
Authors: Lee Chi-Seung , Yoo Byung-Moon , Kim Myung-Hyun , Lee Jae-Myung
Published: March 2012

Austenitic stainless steel, or the so-called transformation-induced plasticity steel, exhibits high nonlinearity when strain-induced martensitic transformation occurs at various strain rates and temperatures, especially at cryogenic temperatures and high strain rates. The strong hardening, which is caused by the strain-induced martensitic transformation, is an important property of austenitic stainless steel. In this work, a viscoplastic model that considers the martensitic phase transformation of austenitic stainless steel is introduced in order to identify nonlinear mechanics, including the strong hardening phenomenon. In addition, the well-known damage mechanics approach is also used to predict material fractures under arbitrary loads. In order to apply the developed viscoplastic model to failures at the structural level, the crack propagation characteristics of an austenitic stainless steel plate are also predicted on the basis of the ABAQUS user-defined subroutine UMAT. In order to demonstrate the feasibility of the model, the simulation results are compared with the uniaxial tensile and crack propagation test results for the austenitic stainless steel plate.
Is Online Participation Distinct from Offline Participation? A Latent Class Analysis of Participation Types and Their Stratification
Authors: Oser Jennifer , Hooghe Marc , Marien Sofie
Published: March 2012

The increased availability of the Internet has led to the emergence of new forms of political participation. Opinions differ, however, on whether this has led to a reinforcement of stratification patterns or to the political mobilization of new groups in society. To address this question, the authors conducted a latent class analysis of a U.S. representative sample that indicates that online activism is indeed a distinctive type of political participation. Analysis of the sociodemographic stratification of the identified participation types confirms the mobilization thesis regarding age and gender but finds that traditional socioeconomic status inequalities are reinforced in online political participation.