bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Baudrillard's Lucidity Pact
Authors: Gane Mike
Published: November 2007

Of Jean Baudrillard’s four orders of simulacra: the natural, the commodity, the code, and the fractal the first three have been widely acknowledged, especially the importance of the theory of the third order for his analysis of the Gulf War. But the fourth order has not been accorded similar recognition and his works around this idea are not as widely known. It is clear that his essays on 9/11 drew substantially on ideas rounding out the theory of the fourth order. This article examines the emergence of the radical theory of evil of the later Baudrillard.
Bilingual dictionaries in tests of L2 writing proficiency: do they make a difference?
Authors: East Martin
Published: November 2007

Whether test takers should be allowed access to dictionaries when taking L2 tests has been the subject of debate for a good number of years. Opinions differ according to how the test construct is understood and whether the underlying value system favours process-orientated assessment for learning, with its concern to elicit the test takers' best performance, or product-focused assessment of learning, with its emphasis on the discriminatory power of the test. One key study into bilingual dictionaries and writing tests (Hurman & Tall, 1998) concluded that dictionary use improves test scores. This study was influential in a recent decision to ban dictionaries in several high-stakes L2 examinations in the UK. Research into dictionary use in reading tests has suggested, however, that dictionary availability makes no statistically significant difference to test scores. This article presents the findings of a further study into bilingual dictionary use in writing tests that also indicated no significant difference to scores. Considering this finding alongside those of studies other than Hurman and Tall's casts some doubt on whether the UK ban was fully justified.
Developing a pragmatics test for Chinese EFL learners
Authors: Jianda Liu
Published: November 2007

Pragmatic proficiency has been incorporated in the EFL teaching and testing syllabi in China, but the corresponding tests still focus on linguistic competence. The gap between the teaching and testing is mainly due to the lack of generally accepted measures of communicative abilities such as pragmatic competence. This study developed a multiple-choice discourse completion test (MDCT) to assess the pragmatic knowledge of Chinese EFL learners in relation to the speech act of apology. The development involved several stages. First, students in China were asked to identify situations in which apologies might be required and to report how likely the situations were to occur in their daily lives. Next, metapragmatic assessment involving both Chinese and North American students was used to ascertain the social variables which applied in each scenario. This was followed by studies to validate the scenarios and to develop multiple-choice options for each scenario. Finally, a pilot test was conducted with 105 Chinese university students. The results provided evidence for the reliability and validity of the test, and suggest that after further investigation it may be feasible to assess the pragmatic competence of Chinese learners by means of a MDCT in the future.
Proficiency descriptors based on a scale-anchoring study of the new TOEFL iBT reading test
Authors: Gomez Pablo Garcia , Noah Aris , Schedl Mary , Wright Christine , Yolkut Aline
Published: November 2007

Providing information to test takers and test score users about the abilities of test takers at different score levels has been a persistent problem in educational and psychological measurement (Carroll, 1993). Since the 1990s Educational Testing Service has been investigating solutions to this problem through the development of proficiency scaling procedures and questiondifficulty research. In 1997 a proficiency scale was developed for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) Reading Comprehension section using a tree-based regression approach. The current study describes a scale-anchoring study of the new TOEFL iBT reading test and the resulting proficiency descriptors that are now part of the TOEFL iBT score report. The goal was to provide descriptive information about the abilities that test takers need in order to answer questions correctly. These abilities are those articulated in the new TOEFL Reading Framework and in the guidelines for writing test questions. Scale anchoring is a method of creating descriptors of the performance of test takers that is based on both empirical data and judgments by test developers. It has been used with a variety of assessments, including the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS).
Modelling the relationships between emotional responses to, and musical content of, music therapy improvisations
Authors: Luck Geoff , Toiviainen Petri , Erkkilä Jaakko , Lartillot Olivier , Riikkilä Kari , Mäkelä Arto , Pyhäluoto Kimmo , Raine Heikki , Varkila Leila , Värri Jukka
Published: November 2007

This article reports a study in which listeners were asked to provide continuous ratings of perceived emotional content of clinical music therapy improvisations. Participants were presented with 20 short excerpts of music therapy improvisations, and had to rate perceived activity, pleasantness and strength using a computer-based slider interface. A total of nine musical features relating to various aspects of the music (timing, register, dynamics, tonality, pulse clarity and sensory dissonance) were extracted from the excerpts, and relationships between these features and participants' emotion ratings were investigated. The data were analysed in three stages. First, inter-dimension correlations revealed that ratings of activity and pleasantness were moderately negatively correlated, activity and strength were strongly positively correlated, and strength and pleasantness were moderately negatively correlated. Second, a series of cross-correlation analyses revealed that the temporal lag between musical features and listeners' dimension ratings differed across both variables and dimensions. Finally, a series of linear regression analyses produced significant feature prediction models for each of the three dimensions, accounting for 80 percent ( activity), 57 percent ( pleasantness ) and 84 percent ( strength) of the variance in participants' ratings. Activity was best predicted by high note density and high pulse clarity, pleasantness by low note density and high tonal clarity, and strength by high mean velocity and low note density. The results are discussed in terms of their fit with other work reported in the music psychology literature, and their relevance to clinical music therapy research and practice.
Instrumental students' strategies for finding interpretations: complexity and individual variety
Authors: Hultberg Cecilia
Published: November 2007

In this article, a qualitative, collaborative study on two students' preparation of public performances of guitar duos is presented. A cultural-psychological perspective was used, and data were collected in natural settings. Participants' processes of finding interpretations are characterized by complex strategies, based on individual familiarity with conventions of expressions. Participants negotiate with each other, the composer and the tradition. Individually diverging initial strategies are identified. Mainly tradition-based learning is related to preferences for playing continuously in order to grasp the main character of the music, and solving problems when these turn up. Mainly `western' learning is related to preferences for reading the printed score to get an overview of musical structure and character, and solving technical problems before starting to play continuously. From a long-term perspective, awareness of individually diverging preferences helps participants develop their own strategies, recognize pupils' strategies and preferences, and adapt their teaching to these.
Memory and metamemory for songs: the relative effectiveness of titles, lyrics, and melodies as cues for each other
Authors: Peynircioğlu Zehra F. , Rabinovitz Brian E. , Thompson Jennifer L.W.
Published: November 2007

We explored semantic memory and feeling of knowing (FOK) for titles, lyrics, and melodies of songs as well as the effectiveness of these three components as cues for each other. Melodies and titles were recalled equally well and better than lyrics, but lyrics were the better cue for both. Lyrics were also better cues for titles or melodies than vice versa. When recall failed, lyrics were given the higher FOK ratings, especially with the melody cues. In addition, titles elicited stronger FOKs for lyrics, melodies elicited stronger FOKs for lyrics, and titles elicited stronger FOKs for melodies than vice versa. Accuracy data also showed asymmetries between these three components. In addition, in recall, lyrics cued subsequent lyrics and melodies cued subsequent melodies, although melodies elicited stronger FOKs than did lyrics. Possible explanations for the findings are discussed.
Comparative effects of music and recalled life-events on emotional state
Authors: Konečni Vladimir J. , Brown Amber , Wanic Rebekah A.
Published: November 2007

Several classical issues in the area of music and emotion were investigated in a 3 × 3 × 2 × 2 × 4 experiment ( N =144). Participants recalled happy, neutral, or sad life-events, and they listened to happy, neutral, or sad music, in one of two orders of recall and listening. Four dependent measures were obtained: Own emotional state at the time that the recalled event originally occurred (ETHEN) and immediately after recall (ENOW); own emotional state after listening to music (IEM) and a rating of the emotional expressiveness of the music (EDEM), with the order of IEM and EDEM counterbalanced. All measures were on a 13-point happy—sad scale. The main, statistically highly significant, findings were: (a) the ETHEN ratings were more extreme on both the happy and sad tasks than the ENOW and IEM ratings; (b) the ENOW scores were more extreme than the IEM ones, but only on the sad task; (c) the EDEM ratings were more extreme than the IEM ones; (d) the IEM ratings were nevertheless different from the scale midpoint, especially when the participants listened to music before recalling events. The pattern of results and complex methodological issues cast considerable doubt on the idea of a direct causal link between music and emotion. It was also proposed that the notion of `musical emotions' be replaced by the concepts of `being moved' and `aesthetic awe'.
Using music to induce emotions: Influences of musical preference and absorption
Authors: Kreutz Gunter , Ott Ulrich , Teichmann Daniel , Osawa Patrick , Vaitl Dieter
Published: November 2007

The present research addresses the induction of emotion during music listening in adults using categorical and dimensional theories of emotion as background. It further explores the influences of musical preference and absorption trait on induced emotion. Twenty-five excerpts of classical music representing `happiness', `sadness', `fear', `anger' and `peace' were presented individually to 99 adult participants. Participants rated the intensity of felt emotions as well as the pleasantness and arousal induced by each excerpt. Mean intensity ratings of target emotions were highest for 20 out of 25 excerpts. Pleasantness and arousal ratings led to three main clusters within the two-dimensional circumplex space. Preference for classical music significantly influenced specificity and intensity ratings across categories. Absorption trait significantly correlated with arousal ratings only. In sum, instrumental music appears effective for the induction of basic emotions in adult listeners. However, careful screening of participants in terms of their musical preferences should be mandatory.
The Effect of Carbon Black on the Properties of Magnetic Ferrite Filled Natural Rubber Composites
Authors: Sam S.T. , Ismail H. , Ahmad Fauzi M.N. , Abu Bakar A.
Published: November 2007

The effect of carbon black loading and type on the properties of ferrite filled natural rubber (NR) composites was investigated. The carbon black loading used was from 0 to 50 phr and ferrite loading was fixed at 80 phr. Carbon black grades N330 and N660 were used in this work. The scorch time decreased with the addition of carbon black in ferrite filled NR composites whereas the cure time increased. The tensile strength and elongation at break of ferrite filled natural rubber composites were found to decrease with the increase of both types carbon black loading. However, the stress at 100% elongation (M100) and stress modulus at 300% elongation (M300) exhibit an increasing trend. The microstructure showed that filler dispersion of ferrite filled natural rubber composites become poorer with increasing carbon black loading. The thermal stability was found to enhance with carbon black loading. The swelling test indicated that the swelling percentage reduced with increasing carbon black loading while at low loading enhanced the magnetic properties of the composites. The N330 carbon black filled NR composites showed longer scorch and cure times and better tensile properties, swelling resistance and magnetic properties but lower thermal stability than N660 carbon black filled NR composites.
A Discursive Investigation into Victim Responsibility in Rape
Authors: Lea Susan J.
Published: November 2007

The concept of victim responsibility has assumed a central place within psychological research into perceptions of rape. Research repeatedly reports that victims may experience secondary victimization and perpetrators may receive light sentences or even be absolved of the crime. Despite new policies and practices in the UK in respect of rape crimes, attrition rates remain extremely high. This article examines victim responsibility in the talk of convicted sex o fenders and those who work with them. Twenty-three interviews were conducted with professionals and paraprofessionals who work with sex o fenders. The taped therapy sessions of a prison treatment group were the source of perpetrator talk. Discourse analysis identified the existence of two discourses; the discourse of desire and the discourse of commonsense. Separately and together, these discourses served to attribute some responsibility to the victim and to conceptualize rape as sex.
Childbirth, Complications and the Illusion of `Choice': A Case Study
Authors: Crossley Michele L.
Published: November 2007

Over the last 30 years or so, feminists have developed a strong and influential critique of the medicalization of pregnancy and childbirth. Within Britain, especially among middle-class circles, this has resulted in the predominance of a strong cultural push towards `natural' childbirth in which `birthing mothers' resist medical and technological procedures in an attempt to preserve a sense of control and `empowerment' over the course of pregnancy and childbirth. Focusing on an in-depth case study, this article proposes that the `natural discourse' towards childbirth may create idealistic expectations that are totally at odds with the reality of the actual birthing encounter. The tension arising as a result of this discrepancy between expectations and outcomes may have unfortunate negative psychological and emotional consequences, especially for first-time mothers. Accordingly, the uncritical advocacy of `natural' approaches towards childbirth often found within feminist-influenced perspectives needs to be questioned.
Effect of the Clinical Support Nurse Role on Work-related Stress for Nurses on an Inpatient Pediatric Oncology Unit
Authors: Chang Ann , Kicis Jennifer , Sangha Gurjit
Published: November 2007

High patient acuity, heavy workload, and patient deaths can all contribute to work-related stress for pediatric oncology nurses. A new leadership role, the clinical support nurse (CSN), was recently initiated on the oncology unit of a large Canadian pediatric hospital to support frontline staff and reduce some of the stresses related to clinical activity. The CSN assists nurses with complex patient care procedures, provides hands-on education at the bedside, and supports staff in managing challenging family situations. This study explores the effect of the CSN role on the nurses' work-related stress using the Stressor Scale for Pediatric Oncology Nurses. A total of 58 nurses participated in this study for a response rate of 86%. The results show that the intensity of work-related stress experienced by nurses in this study is significantly less (P < .001) on shifts staffed with a CSN compared with shifts without a CSN.
Adolescent-Evaluated Quality of Life: A Longitudinal Study
Authors: Ward-Smith Peggy , McCaskie Becki , Rhoton Shannon
Published: November 2007

Opportunities for adolescents with cancer to interact with each other are few. This project provided a weekend retreat for adolescents with cancer and obtained longitudinal self-evaluated quality of life data. Data were collected using the Adolescent Quality of Life instrument, which is a 16-item Likertscaled survey that assesses quality of life. Twenty-two adolescents attended the weekend, and 17 participated in the study. Evaluations of the weekend retreat were positive, with “making friends” and “meeting others like me” the most frequent comments. Data from the Adolescent Quality of Life instrument revealed that for this population, quality of life was unchanged directly after the weekend and was statistically worse 1 month later. Enrollment methods skewed study participation toward individuals receiving treatment, which may explain these results. The reliability of the Adolescent Quality of Life instrument remained stable over time, and it appears to accurately assess and reflect changes in quality of life.
Early Ambulation After Acute Deep Vein Thrombosis: Is It Safe?
Authors: Blumenstein Marilyn Slavin
Published: November 2007

The number of thrombotic events in children, although significantly less than that in adults, is increasing as a result of therapeutic advances in primary illnesses that were previously fatal. When a patient, adult or pediatric, develops a deep vein thrombosis and anticoagulation therapy is initiated, many health professionals ask, “When should this patient have physical therapy and/or ambulate?” Fear of causing a pulmonary embolism with increased activity drives this question. Often, an order for bed rest is prescribed based more on tradition than on evidence-based medicine. A review of the literature has provided an evidence-based answer to the question, and although the studies are all of adult populations, the results have been extrapolated for use with comparable pediatric populations. The majority of studies agree that early ambulation does not increase an anticoagulated patient's risk for pulmonary embolism. Moreover, most studies report that early ambulation carries benefits such as decreased pain and swelling and fewer postthrombotic syndrome symptoms.
Role of the Simple, Self-Designed Questionnaire in Nursing Research
Authors: Thom Bridgette
Published: November 2007

Simple, self-designed questionnaires can serve a variety of purposes within nursing research. Self-designed questionnaires allow researchers to quickly, effectively, and inexpensively evaluate programs, collect pilot data, and survey accessible populations. This article discusses the role of self-designed questionnaires in simple research studies. Suggestions for designing questions and answers that are adequate measures of the topic of interest are offered. Examples of questionnaires from recent pilot surveys and evaluation projects are presented.
Club Mormon
Authors: McBride Michael
Published: November 2007

The Mormon Church is best understood as a club, in the economics sense of the term. It succeeds, in part, because it identifies and selectively rewards high contributors, thereby limiting free-riding and producing large religious benefits for its members. First, it offers a menu of club goods of varying excludability, with the most valued goods excluded from less-committed members. Second, to enforce this menu, it actively monitors its members using a sophisticated administrative structure. The menu design reflects to an extent the costs of excludability of various religious goods, and the menu-monitoring approach implicitly allows some free-riding to dynamically foster commitment. Because the menu-monitoring approach is best understood as complementing other methods in achieving the Mormon Church's religious goals, these findings yield insights into the activities of other religious groups.
Justifying Knowledge, Justifying Method, Taking Action: Epistemologies, Methodologies, and Methods in Qualitative Research
Authors: Carter Stacy M. , Little Miles
Published: November 2007

In this article, the authors clarify a framework for qualitative research, in particular for evaluating its quality, founded on epistemology, methodology, and method. They define these elements and discuss their respective contributions and interrelationships. Epistemology determines and is made visible through method, particularly in the participant— researcher relationship, measures of research quality, and form, voice, and representation in analysis and writing. Epistemology guides methodological choices and is axiological. Methodology shapes and is shaped by research objectives, questions, and study design. Methodologies can prescribe choices of method, resonate with particular academic disciplines, and encourage or discourage the use and/or development of theory. Method is constrained by and makes visible methodological and epistemic choices. If we define good quality qualitative research as research that attends to all three elements and demonstrates internal consistency between them, standardized checklists can be transcended and innovation and diversity in qualitative research practice facilitated.
The “Learning” Component of Participatory Learning and Action in Health Research: Reflections From a Local Sure Start Evaluation
Authors: Stuttaford Maria , Coe Chris
Published: November 2007

In this article, the authors consider the opportunities for learning in health research that adopts a participatory learning and action (PLA) approach. Much attention has been given to the participation and action components of PLA, but there has been less practical and theoretical consideration of the learning component. Using the research conducted as part of a local Sure Start evaluation in England, the authors reflect on the learning that takes place between participants in the research process. They draw on two models of adult learning styles to frame their reflections and argue that to improve the rigor of participatory research, and to maximize the emancipatory potential of PLA, it is useful for researchers to be explicit about the learning that takes place during participatory research. Furthermore, that learning will be promoted by establishing a dialogue of colearning between different worlds across boundaries.
Choose Your Method: A Comparison of Phenomenology, Discourse Analysis, and Grounded Theory
Authors: Starks Helene , Brown Trinidad Susan
Published: November 2007

The purpose of this article is to compare three qualitative approaches that can be used in health research: phenomenology, discourse analysis, and grounded theory. The authors include a model that summarizes similarities and differences among the approaches, with attention to their historical development, goals, methods, audience, and products. They then illustrate how these approaches differ by applying them to the same data set. The goal in phenomenology is to study how people make meaning of their lived experience; discourse analysis examines how language is used to accomplish personal, social, and political projects; and grounded theory develops explanatory theories of basic social processes studied in context. The authors argue that by familiarizing themselves with the origins and details of these approaches, researchers can make better matches between their research question(s) and the goals and products of the study.
The Advantages and Disadvantages of Mixing Methods: An Analysis of Combining Traditional and Autoethnographic Approaches
Authors: O'Byrne Patrick
Published: November 2007

Although mixed- and multiple-method research designs are currently gaining momentum and popularity, it is essential that researchers undertake a critical analysis of the process of mixing “mainstream” research designs with newer methods before commencing. In ethnography, not only are there multiple approaches to data collection, but each approach also spans the competing paradigms, thus making the term mainstream ambiguous because these mainstream techniques are reasonably different from one another. When critically appraising the combination of ethnography and autoethnography, researchers must evaluate paradigmatic philosophies and methods of inquiry for commensurability and delineate the advantages and disadvantages of combining methods as they relate to each paradigm. The author's goal in this article is to demarcate the methodologies of both ethnography and autoethnography and then to identify the (dis)advantages that might arise from undertaking multiple-method and/or mixed-method research that uses these approaches concurrently.
“Researcher Saturation”: The Impact of Data Triangulation and Intensive-Research Practices on the Researcher and Qualitative Research Process
Authors: Wray Natalie , Markovic Milica , Manderson Lenore
Published: November 2007

Theoretically and methodologically sound qualitative research demands an extended period of fieldwork and the use of multiple methods to achieve data saturation and develop the grounded theory. Little is known about the experiences of researchers who conduct such studies. The authors explore these matters by drawing on their experiences of conducting a 3-year qualitative study with women about their gynecological cancer journey. Their fieldwork consisted of participant observation and in-depth interviews with women and health professionals. They demonstrate that researchers who are involved in all phases of emotionally demanding research; that is, data collection (recruiting, observing, expanding field notes, and interviewing), transcription, and data analysis repeatedly relive difficult events, which might potentially compromise the researchers' well-being and, in turn, the research process and data validity. The authors discuss how researchers can deal effectively with these matters during fieldwork and propose a more formal approach to debriefing.
Using Photographs to Capture Women's Experiences of Chemotherapy: Reflecting on the Method
Authors: Frith Hannah , Harcourt Diana
Published: November 2007

This article examines the value of using the photo-elicitation method for generating health-related narratives. Drawing on research in which women kept a photographic record of their experiences of chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer, this research explored how this method (a) produced elaborate accounts of illness experiences through an exploration of the process of representing experiences and through an interrogation of the images themselves; (b) allowed an opportunity to capture experiences over time and a way of capturing the past, which can then be reexplored from the present; (c) enabled patients to retain control over their images of themselves and how they choose to represent their experiences; and (d) provided a window into the private, everyday experiences of patients away from a health care setting.
Conversational Shaping: Staff Members' Solicitation of Talk From People With an Intellectual Impairment
Authors: Antaki Charles , Finlay W.M.L. , Walton Chris
Published: November 2007

In initiating and maintaining talk with people with intellectual impairments, members of care staff use a range of recurrent conversational devices. The authors list six of the more common of these devices, explain how they work interactionally, and speculate on how they serve institutional interests. As in other dealings between staff members and the people with intellectual impairments they support, there is a pervasive dilemma between, on one hand, encouraging participation and, on the other, getting institutional jobs done. The authors show how the practices of encouraging talk that they describe move between the two horns of that dilemma.
Exercise Responses in Boys With Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
Authors: Mahon Anthony D. , Stephens Brooke R. , Cole Andrew S.
Published: November 2007

Objective: The effect of stimulant medication on exercise responses was studied in 14 boys (10.9 ± 1.1 years) with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Method: Exercise, with and without medication, was performed at 25 W, 50 W, and 75 W, followed by a peak exercise test. Result: Submaximal heart rate (HR) was significantly higher by ~8 to 13 b·min—1 across the three intensities during the medication trial, but oxygen uptake (VO2), respiratory exchange ratio (RER), and perceived exertion were similar ( p > .05). At peak exercise, VO2, HR, and work rate were attenuated ( p ≤ .05) in the absence of medication but not RER or perceived exertion. The decreased peak exercise responses were apparent in 6 of 13 participants. Conclusion: Stimulant medication raises submaximal HR but does not affect other cardiorespiratory measures or perceived exertion. Without medication physiological responses at peak exercise are attenuated in some but not all boys with ADHD. ( J. of Att. Dis. 2008; 12(2) 170-176)
Negotiating the Field of Masculinity
Authors: Coles Tony
Published: November 2007

This article presents a theoretical model of masculinities based on a combination of Connell’s theories on hegemonic masculinity and Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus, capital, and fields. The work of Connell has been both profound and pervasive in its influence on the study of men and masculinities. However, there are limitations, particularly in relation to the disparity between the theoretical concept of hegemonic masculinity as the culturally dominant ideal and men’s lived experiences of a variety of dominant masculinities. The model presented herein introduces the possibility of multiple dominant masculinities that operate within subfields bound by a field of masculinity. The model also outlines the ways in which masculinities are both produced and reproduced as a consequence of struggles between dominant and subordinate groups of men. These struggles also provide a rationale for resistance and complicity determined by what is deemed to be valued capital within the field of masculinity.
Public-Safety Concerns Among Law Enforcement Agencies in Suburban and Rural America
Authors: Kuhns Joseph B. , Maguire Edward R. , Cox Stephen M.
Published: November 2007

Contingency theory argues that the performance of an organization is contingent on how well it fits the context within which it is embedded. This study explores the public-safety concerns of nearly 6,000 law enforcement agencies serving populations less than 50,000. Property offenses, domestic violence, and drugs were the most frequently reported concerns, whereas gangs and violent crimes were often ranked lower. Rankings of public-safety concerns varied across agencies and were affected by population density, violent and property crime, type of agency, department size, and region. Findings suggest that the context in which police organizations are located plays a role in shaping public-safety concerns, which is an important step in broadening our knowledge about the priorities, goals, and behaviors of police organizations.
When Whren Won't Work
Authors: Withrow Brian L.
Published: November 2007

The diversity of statutes regulating vehicular traffic and the near certainty that motorists will commit a violation provide police officers with abundant opportunities to establish probable cause and thereby initiate a legally sound, albeit pretextual, traffic stop and subsequent search. In 1996, the U.S. Supreme Court ( Whren v. United States) validated this common police practice. The scarcity of statutes regulating pedestrian traffic limits the opportunity for police officers to initiate similar stops within this enforcement context. This research compares vehicular and pedestrian stops within the framework of a racial profiling inquiry to determine whether this diminished capacity affects the racial disparity in stops, searches, and arrests. Black pedestrians are more likely to be stopped, searched, involved in incidents of physical resistance, and arrested than Black motorists. A diminished capacity to initiate a pretextual stop does not appear to affect the overrepresentation of racial and ethnic minorities in police-citizen contacts.
A Quantitative Analysis of Wrongful Death Lawsuits Involving Police Officers in the United States, 1995-2005
Authors: Fishel John , Gabbidon Shaun L. , Hummer Don
Published: November 2007

This article examines the nature of wrongful death lawsuits involving police officers in the United States. By reviewing state-level cases, the authors determine the circumstances surrounding the incidents. More specifically, the authors note characteristics such as the parties typically involved in the cases, the situation in which the deaths occurred, the location of the incidents, the status of the deceased (suspect/nonsuspect), the number of officers involved in the incidents, the specific reasons for the suits, and the outcomes of the cases. Multivariate analyses were also performed to determine the strongest predictors of success in these suits. The implications of the research for police officers and citizens are also discussed.
The Centrality of the Self-Control Ethos in Western Aspersions Regarding Outgroups: A Social Representational Approach to Stereotype Content
Authors: Joffe Hélène , Staerklé Christian
Published: November 2007

This theoretical article presents a cultural-level analysis of stereotype content concerning derogated outgroups in the West. It proposes that the ethos of self-control is a key source of widespread thinking about outgroups, and thus a key factor in the social construction of certain groups as superior and others as inferior. Drawing on the social representations approach, the article complements and extends existing analyses of stereotype content that stem from social identity theory and the structural hypothesis. By emphasizing cultural values, particularly that of self-control of the body, it casts light on neglected sources of stereotype content such as its emotional, visceral and symbolic roots. Furthermore, by exploring other dimensions of the self-control ethos—linked to the mind and to destiny—the paper shows that derogated outgroups are often symbolized in terms of contravention of multiple aspects of self-control. Finally, the paper contributes to a cultural understanding of social exclusion by investigating the origin, production and diffusion of the symbolization of outgroups in terms of deficits in self-control.
Commentary: The Self-Control Ethos as a Mechanism of Social Exclusion in Western Societies
Authors: Flávia do Amaral Madureira Ana
Published: November 2007

Joffe and Staerklé present relevant contributions for improvement of our understanding about the mechanisms of social exclusion in western societies. From the analysis of the self-control ethos in three different domains—mind, body and destiny—the authors develop a fresh view about the relations between cultural values and stereotype content. Here I focus on two domains that are worth further exploration: self-control over the body as a symbol of status; and affective roots of prejudices. Two suggestions are made for future inquiries into how individualism, which feeds into the self-control ethos, has a strategic role in the maintenance of social exclusion mechanisms.
Positioning in Accounting for Redemption and Reconciliation
Authors: Murakami Kyoko
Published: November 2007

This article offers an analysis of the discursive practice of reconciliation occasioned in the accounts of former British prisoners of war of their captivity and of other related events of World War II during a reconciliation trip to Japan. The overall aim is to examine ways in which autobiographical accounts about the past, as produced in interviews, constitute relevant identities and membership within social relations. In telling narratives of post-war experiences of reconciliation, the participants account for changes in their lives. I use the term `narrative of redemption' to describe those narratives in which the participants address the moral sensibility of the problematic status of their wartime past and reconfigure and reformulate the significance of the past in relation to their present position of reconciliation. Adopting positioning theory as a guiding analytic concept, my analysis demonstrates how such talk shapes experiences of reconciliation with a problematic past. I focus on the redemption narrative to uncover the interactional work of positioning with special attention to similar concepts such as footing and reported speech. I discuss, although briefly, implications of applying positioning theory to the work of reconciliation studies.
Commentary: Ambiguity in Narratives of Reconciliation: A Commentary on `Positioning in Accounting for Redemption and Reconciliation
Authors: Phillips Rebekah
Published: November 2007

Murakami's article on positioning in reconciliation narratives accurately portrays the way in which a former POW reformulates his identity and his past and reconciles with his time as a POW and the Japanese who held him. Through further analysis of the narrative provided, along with an additional narrative of reconciliation from the Rwandan Genocide, this commentary will reflect on the multiple positions that continually interact to create one's identity, the role of the collective culture in this process, and the ambiguity inherent in reconciliation.
Review Essay: Conceptualizing Metaphors versus Embodying the Language
Authors: Cornejo Carlos
Published: November 2007

The paper presents a review of Kövecses's book Metaphor in Culture: Universality and Variation (2005) advancing a more general critique to the cognitive linguistic view of metaphor. Kövecses addresses a pending problem for the cognitive linguistic approach, namely the observed variation both cross-culturally and within cultures in the use of metaphors. If, as predicted by cognitive linguistics, metaphorical expressions are bodily motivated, conceptual metaphors should be universals. Variation is also a problem for this theory. I argue that the problem reflects the incapacity of the theory to integrate bodily and social meanings. To solve this dilemma, three tenets of cognitive linguistics should be changed: the necessity to hypothesize conceptual structures between body and meaning; the framing of metaphor as a logical device rather than a psychological process; and the omission of the phenomenological experience when using metaphors. I conclude with a brief sketch of how a metaphor theory should work when changing those tenets.
Gamma Ray Activity in Raw Materials and the End Product from the West African Portland Cement PLC, Ewekoro, South Western Nigeria
Authors: Awodugba A.O. , Adelabu J.S.A. , Awodele M.K. , Ishola G.A.
Published: November 2007

Assessment of gamma ray activity in raw materials and the end product in `Elephant cement' from the West African Portland Cement PLC is carried out. Raw materials are collected from the company and are analyzed using gamma-ray spectrometry.

The concentrations of 40K, 238U, and 232Th are highest in limestone and least in red alumina. For example, limestone has a 40K concentration of 904.42 ± 39 Bq · kg-1 while red alumina has 313.84 ± 11 Bq · kg-1. The concentration of 238U in limestone is 296.86 ± 12 Bq · kg-1 as compared to 139.44 ± 6 Bq · kg-1 in red alumina. 232Th concentration in limestone is 171.14 ± 12 Bq · kg-1 while in red alumina it is 45.65 ± 2 Bq · kg-1 .

The mean activities measured for 40K, 238U, and 232Th are 667.69 ± 24, 323.48 ± 10, and 95.91 ± 4, respectively, while its corresponding mean absorbed dose rate in air at 1 m above the ground was calculated to be 264.96 nGy · h-1 or 2.321 mSv · y-1. The finished product (cement) has a mean absorbed dose rate of 282 nGy · h-1 and an effective dose equivalent of 2.471mSv · y-1. The calculated absorbed doses in nGy · h-1 and mSv · y-1 show that Elephant cement has higher activities of the isotopes than the permissible level suggested by ICRP (80 nGy · h-1or 0.7 mSv · y-1).
Use of a State Space Model to Study the Effect of Outdoor Air Quality on Indoor Air in Fairbanks Alaska
Authors: Marsik Tom , Johnson Ron
Published: November 2007

A usual method for studying the effective penetration efficiency of pollutants into buildings consists in performing a linear regression of outdoor and indoor samples. But, because of the dynamic relationship between outdoor and indoor concentrations, this method requires either long-term averages or steady-state conditions. Other methods use dynamic models but these normally require the knowledge of model parameters, such as the ventilation rate. This paper presents a state-space model analysis method that can be used for transient samples and doesn't require the knowledge of model parameters. It was used to study PM2.5 and CO in Fairbanks, Alaska. The effective penetration efficiency for PM2.5 ranged from 0.16 to 0.69, and was close to unity for CO. The outdoor generated PM2.5 was responsible in average for about 67% of the indoor PM2.5 in residences, and close to 100% in office environments.
Indoor Radon Measurements in Dwellings of Some Areas of Upper Siwaliks, India using SSNTDs
Authors: Singh Joga , Singh Harmanjit , Singh Surinder , Bajwa B.S.
Published: November 2007

The presence of radon and its decay products in the human environment are considered a potential health hazardous and measurement of them is important to assess the threat they might pose. Keeping this in view, indoor radon measurements were carried out in dwellings of different villages belonging to the upper Siwaliks of Kala Amb, Nahan, and Morni Hills, India using the LR-115 type II cellulose nitrate films in the bare mode. The annual average radon concentration in the studied area was measured in the range from 71.7 ± 21.0 to 421.7 ± 33.6 Bq·m-3. The levels of radon activity were found to be within the action level internationally recommended by ICRP. The average annual effective dose was found to vary from 1.22 to 7.20 mSv per year. Gamma ray activities were also measured in the dwellings of different villages to look for a possible correlation between indoor radon and gamma ray levels in the study area. The values of gamma ray activity were found to vary from 9.75 to 17.50 μR·h-1. The values of indoor radon concentration and gamma ray activity in the study area were compared with those from the adjoining nonradioactive areas of Punjab.
Transport of Droplets Expelled by Coughing in Ventilated Rooms
Authors: Sun Wei , Ji Jie
Published: November 2007

This study aims to understand the transport and dispersal of droplets produced by coughing in a ventilated room. Experiments were conducted to measure the initial velocity and the duration of a coughing burst. Computational fluid dynamics with a Eulerian—Lagrangian model was used to investigate the transport characteristics of evaporating droplets expelled into the ventilated room. The simulation results indicate that if expelled horizontally the droplets finally settle if their initial size is >100 μm, while if expelled upwards the droplets only settle if their initial size is ≥300 μm. Different ventilation set-ups vary in their ability to remove droplets produced by coughing. The mixing ventilation system has an almost equal efficiency for removing small passive droplets and the nuclei of droplets whose original size was 100 and 80 μm, respectively. For displacement ventilation, although it has high efficiency in removing small passive droplets, it has difficulty in removing the nuclei of large droplets. In the displacement system, small droplets show a two-zonal distribution in the room, but the nuclei of large droplets are subjected to gravitational force and tend to settle in the lower part of the room.
Experimental Study on Skin Temperature and Thermal Comfort of the Human Body in a Recumbent Posture under Uniform Thermal Environments
Authors: Yao Ye , Lian Zhiwei , Liu Weiwei , Shen Qi
Published: November 2007

Experiments are conducted on human subjects to study the overall and the local thermal sensation and thermal comfort as well as the skin temperature distribution of the body in a recumbent posture under different environmental temperatures (21, 24, 26, and 29°C). Local skin temperatures are measured and 14 methods for the mean skin temperature overall are investigated. Statistical analysis showed that the Burton (3 points) method wiu obtain similar results for mean skin temperature compared with the other methods, e.g., Colin/Houdas (10 points), Hardy/DuBois (12 points), Stolwijk/Hardy (unweighted 10 points), and Mitchell/ Wyndham (unweighted 15 points), and is employed in this study due to its simplicity and convenience. Meanwhile, the relationship between skin temperature and thermal comfort and sensation is investigated and overall/local thermal sensation models based on the skin temperature are established according to the experimental data in this study.
Sick Buildings or Not: Indoor Air Quality and Health Problems in Schools
Authors: Alsmo Thomas , Holmberg Sture
Published: November 2007

Poor indoor air in schools has become a wide-spread problem with serious effects on occupant health. Resultant costs can be considerable at both local and national government levels. These include absenteeism and rehabilitation as well as building alterations and even demolition and rebuilding. This project aims to show factors contributing to health problems in Swedish schools. It includes a literature survey and particle measurements taken during various activities. Due to the fact that today there is no standard for indoor air quality (IAQ) in schools, in this project we used the outdoor air surrounding the building as an indicator. Results showed that indoor school environments had high airborne pollution levels, to a degree that probably causes health problems for many people. Regarding IAQ, this project shows the importance of taking into consideration choices in activities and furnishing of the building.
Chemistry and Air-conditioning: Sampling and Analysis of Particles Collected from Filters of Air Conditioning Equipment in Athens
Authors: Viladeri Chryssi V. , Piscopou Trias D. , Siskos Panayotis A.
Published: November 2007

The objective of this article is the chemical characterization of particles collected on the filters of the air-conditioning equipment. Forty four samples has been collected from seven different sites in Athens, Greece. They have been characterized by determining their total carbon content, the total organic carbon present and the dichloromethane soluble fraction and calculating the amount of inorganic carbon and elemental carbon. The results indicated that indoor- air quality is influenced by indoor activity, the use of electronics, smoking, and the renewal of the air.
`Well, you go there to get off'
Authors: Cooper Davina
Published: November 2007

This paper examines normative feminist care scholarship through the lens of a sexual bathhouse. At first glance, a space dedicated to casual sexual pleasure seems at odds with feminist care. Drawing on the Toronto Women's Bathhouse (TWB) as a case study, this paper argues that bathhouse spaces can exemplify feminist care norms. At the same time, as a casual sexual space oriented towards personal autonomy, carefree conduct, and self-care, TWB also challenges certain feminist care assumptions. Drawing on these challenges, in the light of wider problems with normative care theorizing, particularly the sanitization and idealization of personal relationships, the paper seeks to revision care along non-normative lines.