bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A pragmatist defence of rationalism: Towards a cognitive frames–based methodology in International Relations
Authors: Klasche Benjamin , Selg Peeter
Published: March 2020

The endeavour to explain and predict international affairs is getting harder since it is ever more widely accepted that heterogeneous and fluid actors are making international politics. Positivists of various types have dominated the discussion on knowledge creation in the discipline of International Relations (IR), but the increasing acceptance of the dynamic character of international politics has led to the support and use of constructivist, post-Western or feminist approaches. There has also been an uptick in methodological discussions on these critical, non-positivist approaches. This article contributes to these debates by offering the first steps towards a cognitive frames–based methodology for IR. With a pragmatist ontology as its foundation, the approach re-sets the focus of analysis to the rationality of the international actors. The article, offers an initial description, by relying on illustrative examples, of the creation, the reach, durability and the organisational structure of cognitive frames in the global arena.
Peace Processes and the Integration of Pro-Government Militias: The Case of Village Guards in Turkey
Authors: Balta Evren , Yüksel Murat , Acar Yasemin Gülsüm
Published: March 2020

Militia groups have only recently started to attract scholarly attention in the literature on internal conflicts. This attention is mostly focused on either the causes of their emergence or their functions and performance during the conflict. The role of militia groups in post-conflict processes, however, has not been adequately addressed. This article intends to fill this gap by analyzing the case of village guards, a type of pro-government militia system in Turkey, based on qualitative evidence from field research. While the dominant narrative in the literature identifies militia groups as spoilers in peace processes, the article shows that militias do not act as spoilers under certain conditions. In the case of the village guard system in Turkey, the permanent integration of militias into the state’s regular military apparatus prevented militia groups from acting as spoilers. It then argues that the permanent integration of wartime militia systems is a consequence of two factors: militia networking and a lack of comprehensive peace-building structures.
Trajectory tracking control for a quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle based on dynamic surface active disturbance rejection control
Authors: Zhang Yong , Chen Zengqiang , Sun Mingwei
Published: March 2020

This paper proposes a dynamic surface active disturbance rejection control (ADRC) strategy to deal with trajectory tracking problems for a quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Compared with backstepping control, the design process of the dynamic controller is more simple; the dynamic surface control introduces a first-order filter to obtain the derivative of the virtual control, the purpose is to avoid the virtual control derivation, and to simplify the control law of the whole system. The ADRC technique is mainly used to reject the disturbances and stabilize the quadrotor UAV system. Parametric uncertainties and external disturbances have been considered for the whole system, the control strategy that proposed in this paper has been simulated by MATLAB and the advantages and effectiveness of the control strategy that proposed in the paper are shown by comparing with the classical ADRC.
‘If the cap fits’? Probation staff and the changing nature of supervision in a Community Rehabilitation Company
Authors: Tidmarsh Matt
Published: March 2020

This article explores the changing nature of supervision in a Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC) following the Transforming Rehabilitation ( TR) reforms to probation services in England and Wales. Based on an ethnographic study of an office within a privately owned CRC, it argues that TR has entrenched long-term trends towards ‘Taylorised’ probation practice. This is to say that qualitative and quantitative changes to the complexion of practitioners’ caseloads since TR reflect a decades-long devaluation of the probation service and its staff. The decision to allocate most qualified practitioners to the National Probation Service means that Case Managers (i.e. probation service officers) now supervise offenders who would historically have been supervised by Senior Case Managers (i.e. probation officers). This loss of expertise has been exacerbated by administrative staff redundancies at the office. The result is an increasingly standardised and fragmented mode of working within the CRC in which the majority of services are now delivered by the voluntary sector.
The effectiveness of an aerobic exercise training on patients with neck pain during a short- and long-term follow-up: a prospective double-blind randomized controlled trial
Authors: Daher Amira , Carel Rafael S , Tzipi Knoll , Esther Hazan , Dar Gali
Published: March 2020

Objective:

To examine the effect of adding aerobic exercise (AE) to neck-specific exercise treatment for patients with neck pain (NP) to reduce pain and disability.

Design:

A prospective multicentre randomized controlled trial.

Setting:

Physiotherapy outpatient clinics.

Subjects:

Patients with nonspecific NP.

Intervention:

Patients with NP were randomly assigned to six weeks of neck-specific exercise with and without the addition of AE.

Measures:

Patients were classified as having a successful or non-successful outcome according to the Global Rating of Change (GROC). Outcome measures included Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), Neck Disability Index (NDI), Fear Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire (FABQ) and cervicogenic headache. Assessments were performed at six-week, and three- and six-month follow-ups.

Results:

A total of 139 participants (mean age: 54.6 ± 10.5 years) were recruited ( n = 69 AE, n = 70 control). According to GROC, 77.4% of the AE group reported a successful outcome at six months vs. 40% in the control group ( P < 0.001). There was a significant reduction in VAS from baseline to six months in the AE vs. control group 6.73 (±1.69) to 1.89 (±1.37) vs. 6.65 (±1.67) to 3.32 (±1.82), respectively ( P  < 0.001). Significant improvements were also obtained for NDI and FABQ from baseline to six weeks in the AE group: NDI from 16.10 (±4.53) to 7.78 (±4.78) vs. 17.01 (±4.84) to 11.09 (±5.64) in the control group ( P = 0.003); FABQ from 33.53 (±9.31) to 20.94 (±841) in the AE vs. 33.45 (±10.20) to 26.83 (±10.79) in the control group ( P < 0.001). The AE group also demonstrated significant reduction in cervicogenic headache from baseline to six months ( P = 0.003).

Conclusion:

Adding AE to long-term neck-specific exercises is an effective treatment for reducing NP and headache in patients with NP.
Ethical and research governance approval across Europe: Experiences from three European palliative care studies
Authors: Preston Nancy , van Delden Johannes JM , Ingravallo Francesca , Hughes Sean , Hasselaar Jeroen , van der Heide Agnes , Van den Block Lieve , Dunleavy Lesley , Groot Marieke , Csikos Agnes , Payne Sheila
Published: March 2020

Background:

Research requires high-quality ethical and governance scrutiny and approval. However, when research is conducted across different countries, this can cause challenges due to the differing ethico-legal framework requirements of ethical boards. There is no specific guidance for research which does not involve non-medicinal products.

Aim:

To describe and address differences in ethical and research governance procedures applied by research ethics committees for non-pharmaceutical palliative care studies including adult participants in collaborative European studies.

Design:

An online survey analysed using descriptive statistics.

Setting/participants:

Eighteen principal investigators in 11 countries conducting one of three European-funded studies.

Results:

There was variation in practice including whether ethical approval was required. The time to gain full approvals differed with the United Kingdom having governance procedures that took the longest time. Written consent was not required in all countries nor were data safety monitoring committees for trials. There were additional differences in relation to other data management issues.

Conclusion:

Researchers need to take the differences in research approval procedures into account when planning studies. Future research is needed to establish European-wide recommendations for policy and practice that dovetail ethical procedures and enhance transnational research collaborations.
The Blackbird UAV dataset
Authors: Antonini Amado , Guerra Winter , Murali Varun , Sayre-McCord Thomas , Karaman Sertac
Published: March 2020

This article describes the Blackbird unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) Dataset, a large-scale suite of sensor data and corresponding ground truth from a custom-built quadrotor platform equipped with an inertial measurement unit (IMU), rotor tachometers, and virtual color, grayscale, and depth cameras. Motivated by the increasing demand for agile, autonomous operation of aerial vehicles, this dataset is designed to facilitate the development and evaluation of high-performance UAV perception algorithms. The dataset contains over 10 hours of data from our quadrotor tracing 18 different trajectories at varying maximum speeds (0.5 to 13.8 ms-1) through 5 different visual environments for a total of 176 unique flights. For each flight, we provide 120 Hz grayscale, 60 Hz RGB-D, and 60 Hz semantically segmented images from forward stereo and downward-facing photorealistic virtual cameras in addition to 100 Hz IMU, ~190 Hz motor speed sensors, and 360 Hz millimeter-accurate motion capture ground truth. The Blackbird UAV dataset is therefore well suited to the development of algorithms for visual inertial navigation, 3D reconstruction, and depth estimation. As a benchmark for future algorithms, the performance of two state-of-the-art visual odometry algorithms are reported and scripts for comparing against the benchmarks are included with the dataset. The dataset is available for download at http://blackbird-dataset.mit.edu/ .
From Virginity to Orgasm: Marriage and Sexuality in Twentieth-century Greece
Authors: Avdela Efi , Gotsinas Kostis , Kritsotaki Despo , Vassiliadou Dimitra
Published: March 2020

This article charts the gradual sexualization of marriage in twentieth-century Greece, exploring both expert and lay ideas. First, through official writings and marital correspondence, it sketches the subtle transformation of the nineteenth-century ideal of conjugal love into a more sexualized emotion by the turn of the century. Then, it analyzes the writings of “sex experts” and the correspondence with their clients, showcasing how sexual pleasure became a priority within marriage after World War II. Lastly, the records of a postwar mental health service show that by the late 1970s, the consensus on the importance of mutual sexual satisfaction was being established.
The Competition of Memories: The Commemorative Landscape of Polish Central Pomerania after 1945
Authors: Ćwiek-Rogalska Karolina
Published: March 2020

This article answers the question how the situation of incorporation of Central Pomerania, formerly a German region, into Poland in 1945 affected the formation of its commemorative landscape. The author discusses how this affected the erection of new monuments after 1945, and if the example of German Great War memorials, erected here after 1918, had an influence on new Polish commemorative practices. A “competition of memories” is used here as the analytical tool. It is understood as a phenomenon that occurs in areas where two cultures are superimposed on one another, so primary commemorations are copied, employing the structures of the existing memorials, to produce secondary commemorations. Through an analysis of archival and fieldwork materials, the author examines the social practices of memory. The case studies are memorials recycled for commemorations connected to the Pomeranian Line and mythology of “recovery,” legitimising the incorporation of Central Pomerania into Poland.
Systems thinking leadership: New explorations for school improvement
Authors: Shaked Haim , Schechter Chen
Published: March 2020

Systems thinking can be explained as the ability to see the whole beyond its parts and to see the parts in the context of the whole. As a holistic management approach, systems thinking enables managers to cope with increasing complexity and change. Given the inherent complexity of school organizations within dynamic educational environments, systems thinking can significantly benefit the realm of school leadership. Despite its potential contribution, the available knowledge on systems thinking in school leadership is meagre. This article seeks to identify possible avenues for research regarding systems thinking in school leadership, suggesting aspects of this leadership approach that are worthy of further academic exploration.
Decentering health research networks: Framing collaboration in the context of narrative incompatibility and regional geo-politics
Authors: Waring Justin , Crompton Amanda , Overton Charlotte , Roe Bridget
Published: March 2020

Research innovations and breakthroughs are increasingly realised through collaborative networks amongst state and non-state actors. This article investigates the utilisation of such networks in the field of applied health services research, where policy narratives repeatedly emphasise the importance of collaboration between university researchers, clinical and health service leaders, patient representatives and industry. The translation of policy into practice suggests that these networks are not always designed and managed in line with policy aspirations. Taking a decentred approach, the study reported in this article examines how local policy actors translate national policies for collaborative health research networks in the context of their own histories of applied research, including local narratives and priorities for health research. The study shows that local actors face key dilemmas and opportunities for situated agency, as they experience three competing policy narratives, first, for carrying out world-class research; second, for ensuring research meets local needs and third, for developing new understanding about the implementation of research into practice. Although these expectations might appear coherent to policy-makers, at the regional level, they provide the basis for disagreement and negotiation amongst local policy actors through which the local narrative of collaborative research is framed to regional stakeholders. The study shows how the tensions between elite and local narratives can be reconciled through re-framing activities, especially the articulation of ‘parallel frames’ within a ‘cascade framing’ process.
Beyond the time bind: Gender inequality and the tempo of life in 87 countries
Authors: Bó Boróka B
Published: March 2020

This article explores the relationship between gender inequality and the tempo of life around the world. By directly situating tempo in sociological theory, I develop a more consistent, embodied, precise and generalizable measure for the tempo of public life, with gender on the forefront. To do so, I draw on the largest dataset to-date collected on the tempo of life around the world. This allows me to isolate how macro- and micro-level gender inequality matters in different contexts. Contrary to existing literature from the biosciences, my ordinary least squares regression results show that in countries with high levels of gender inequality, women often walk faster than men in public places. Monte Carlo cross-validation tests and parametric bootstrap analyses test the predictive accuracy of the full model. My results illustrate that the tempo of public life cannot be solely reduced to previously-explored economic, cultural and environmental differences between the northern and the southern hemispheres. The consideration of gender is imperative for understanding between-country and within-country differences in tempo. In addition to shedding light on the tempo of public life, my work serves as an important first step toward standardizing the tempo measure, allowing for meaningful comparisons in markedly different contexts.
Propensity score-based methods for causal inference in observational studies with non-binary treatments
Authors: Zhao Shandong , van Dyk David A , Imai Kosuke
Published: March 2020

Propensity score methods are a part of the standard toolkit for applied researchers who wish to ascertain causal effects from observational data. While they were originally developed for binary treatments, several researchers have proposed generalizations of the propensity score methodology for non-binary treatment regimes. Such extensions have widened the applicability of propensity score methods and are indeed becoming increasingly popular themselves. In this article, we closely examine two methods that generalize propensity scores in this direction, namely, the propensity function (PF), and the generalized propensity score (GPS), along with two extensions of the GPS that aim to improve its robustness. We compare the assumptions, theoretical properties, and empirical performance of these methods. On a theoretical level, the GPS and its extensions are advantageous in that they are designed to estimate the full dose response function rather than the average treatment effect that is estimated with the PF. We compare GPS with a new PF method, both of which estimate the dose response function. We illustrate our findings and proposals through simulation studies, including one based on an empirical study about the effect of smoking on healthcare costs. While our proposed PF-based estimator preforms well, we generally advise caution in that all available methods can be biased by model misspecification and extrapolation.
Characterization of cellulose nanocrystals extracted from El Diss and El Retma local plants and their dispersion in poly(vinyl alcohol-co-ethylene) matrix in the presence of borax
Authors: Benchikh Lilia , Merzouki Abdelhafid , Grohens Yves , Guessoum Melia , Pillin Isabelle
Published: March 2020

This study aims to investigate the potential of two local fibers, namely El Diss and El Retma, which are abundant in the mountains of North Africa (Sétif, Algeria), to provide cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs). Then, the isolated CNCs from El Diss were used as a reinforcement for a poly(vinyl alcohol-co-ethylene) matrix (EVOH) in the absence and in the presence of borax which was added to improve the interactions between the CNCs and the matrix. The extracted CNCs from both El Diss (CNCD) and El Retma (CNCR) were characterized by Zeta-sizer analysis using dynamic light scattering (DLS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and scanning electronic microscopy. Also, untreated EVOH/CNCD nanocomposites and borax-treated EVOH/CNCD/BOR have been characterized using FTIR, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analyses, and by the study of their water absorption behavior. The DLS analysis provided the transversal length of the particles and showed that the surface of the obtained CNCs is negatively charged due to the presence of sulfated ions. Also, FTIR results confirmed the elimination of extra cellulosic substances, whereas TGA proved that the degradation of CNCs occurs at relatively lower temperatures compared with the neat fibers. The incorporation of borax to EVOH/CNCD nanocomposites showed its efficiency in improving the interactions at the interface between EVOH and the CNCD, which significantly affected the material’s thermal properties as concluded from DSC results and their water absorption behavior.
An old lady with acute headache and sudden blindness
Authors: Au Sunny Chi Lik , Ko Simon Tak Chuen
Published: March 2020

A 60-year-old hypertensive lady experienced painless sudden visual loss in the right eye when resting at home. There was no traumatic injury, no eye pain, or flashes or floaters, or nausea, but mild right-sided headache for few days. She was not lifting heavy objects, nor straining. She managed to attend the emergency department within 1 h of onset of symptoms by herself walking into the consultation room unaided. Examination showed visual acuity with pinhole of hand movement over the right eye, right relative afferent pupillary defect and normal intraocular pressure of 15 mmHg. Extraocular movement was full without diplopia or pain. Eyes were not injected, and slit lamp examination was normal with clear cornea. Acute management of vascular causes of acute blindness and the role of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in ophthalmological disease in Hong Kong will be discussed.
A physical model of magnetorheological elastomer isolator and its dynamic analysis
Authors: Leng Dingxin , Sun Songlei , Xu Kai , Liu Guijie
Published: March 2020

Magnetorheological elastomers have been paid increasing attention in the fields of vibration mitigation. One of the challenging aspects of utilizing magnetorheological elastomer–based device is to develop dynamic models that could accurately describe their unique characteristics. In this work, a comprehensive physical model including viscoelasticity, hysteresis, and frictional effects is proposed by exploring the unique dissipated energy mechanisms of magnetorheological elastomer isolator. And, a particle swarm optimization–genetic algorithm hybrid algorithm is utilized for model parameter identification. The parameter sensitivity analysis is also conducted. The effectiveness of the proposed model is validated by comparing the predicted force and experimental force. Furthermore, a semi-active fuzzy controller is designed to evaluate the performance of magnetorheological elastomer isolator for vibration mitigation. Numerical results show that the displacement and acceleration of a magnetorheological elastomer isolated system could be reduced, which indicates potential for structural vibration attenuation.
Parents’ Voices Regarding Using Interventions for Toddlers With Autism Spectrum Disorder
Authors: Amsbary Jessica , Able Harriet , Schertz Hannah H. , Odom Samuel L.
Published: March 2020

Parent-implemented interventions (PIIs) hold promise for young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their families. Yet, reports of parent and family perceptions regarding PIIs are limited. The present study’s purpose was to gain parent perceptions regarding the helpful and challenging intervention components and contextual factors in the implementation of one PII in their daily lives. Six interviews were conducted and analyzed using an exploratory qualitative approach. Findings included considerable parent satisfaction with intervention experiences, particularly related to the use of videos taken of themselves and their children during intervention sessions. Some parents voiced discouragement after watching video examples, and parents reported challenges finding time to implement the intervention. Parents valued the supportive relationship formed with their interventionist. Additional findings and implications for research and practice are discussed.
“One Size Does Not Fit All”: Revisiting Team Feedback Theories From a Cultural Dimensions Perspective
Authors: Gabelica Catherine , Popov Vitaliy
Published: March 2020

Feedback is a critical component of teamwork regulation. Research underscores the importance of feedback processes for its effectiveness in teams and further notes how individual differences can affect these processes. Nonetheless, few have theorized on the cultural dimensions associated with feedback to specify how these can attenuate such processes. We contend that research can be advanced by specifying how cultural dimensions may shape individual perception and processing of feedback and team processing of feedback in homogeneous and heterogeneous teams with respect to cultural dimensions. To address this foundational question, we review and integrate the literature on feedback in teams and culture in teams by (a) incorporating the role of culture in team feedback models, (b) discussing how cultural dimensions could influence the perception and processing of feedback, and (c) highlighting important directions for future inquiries at the intersection of feedback and cultural theories. We discuss the links between cultural dimensions derived from the field of intercultural communication and feedback behaviors and processes and provide propositions concerning culturally informed differences in specific feedback responses at individual and team levels.
Potential drug–drug Interactions in hospitalized cancer patients: A report from the Middle-East
Authors: Moghaddas Azadeh , Adib-Majlesi Mohammad , Sabzghabaee Ali M , Hajigholami Ali , Riechelmann Rachel
Published: March 2020

Introduction

Patients suffering from solid tumors use a wide range of cytotoxic drugs. In this study, we aimed to detect, document, and descriptively analyze the potential drug–drug interactions in hospitalized solid tumor’s patients in a Middle Eastern referral oncology–hematology University-affiliated hospital.

Materials and methods

In this cross-sectional study, the medical record of solid tumor’s patients who were admitted to the referral oncological center in Isfahan, Iran, during the six months period (2018) were considered. We included all patients who had received at least two chemotherapy or nonchemotherapy drugs simultaneously. The potential drug–drug interactions between chemotherapy and nonchemotherapy drugs were evaluated with Lexi-Interact ver.1.1 online software.

Results

During the study period, a total of 141 cancer patients were recruited, and their drug therapy regiment was thoroughly analyzed. We detected 227 drug–drug interactions with moderate or major severity out of included patients in which 96, 71, 32, and 28 interactions were in the category of C, D, B, and X, respectively. One hundred and fourteen patients (80.8%) encountered at least one potential drug–drug interactions during their hospitalization. Mechanistically, most of drug–drug interactions (56.4%) were pharmacodynamics. Interaction between granisetron and metoclopramide were the top 10 detected interaction (11.4%). The interaction between docetaxel and carboplatin was the most frequent drug–drug interactions between oncology drugs (2.6% of total drug–drug interactions).

Conclusion

Potentially moderate or major drug–drug interactions frequently occur among solid tumor’s cancer patients necessitate the establishment of a clinical pharmacy service for providing relevant pharmacotherapy consultations to prevent this potentially serious concern.
Visual Design, Message Content, and Benefit Type: The Case of A Cause-Related Marketing Campaign
Authors: Gao Yixing (Lisa) , Wu Laurie , Shin Joongwon , Mattila Anna S.
Published: March 2020

Engaging consumers in a firm’s prosocial initiatives can generate favorable responses. As such, cause-related marketing (CRM) advertisements typically employ various content and design elements to engage consumers. However, the appropriate integration of advertising elements has gained little research attention. To fill this void, this study focuses on the joint effect of benefit type (self-benefits vs. other-benefits), message content (prevention focused vs. promotion focused) and visual design (cute vs. aggressive) on customers’ CRM engagement. While previous research suggests that emphasizing self-benefits (vs. other-benefits) of giving is more effective, our findings indicate that the effectiveness of self-benefit appeals is contingent on the fit between regulatory focus of the message and visual design. This study contributes to the growing literature on CRM by illuminating the interplay of various advertising elements and providing guidelines for hospitality managers in promoting CRM campaigns. Additional theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.
Religiosity, Psychological Resilience, and Mental Health Among Breast Cancer Patients in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Authors: Al Eid Nawal A , Alqahtani Mohammed MJ , Marwa Khaldoun , Arnout Boshra A , Alswailem Hajar S , Al Toaimi Al Anoud
Published: March 2020

Objectives:

This study aimed to investigate the correlations of religiosity and psychological resilience with mental health among cancer patients and to examine whether religiosity and psychological resilience can predict mental health.

Method:

The sample consisted of 329 patients. Researchers applied Islamic Religiosity Scale, Wagnild and Young Resilience Scale, and the scale of Hospital Anxiety and Depression.

Results:

The results showed that there are positive, statistically significant correlations between religiosity and psychological resilience, while there were negative, statistically significant correlations of religiosity and psychological resilience with mental health. And there are correlations between the alternative therapeutic interventions currently used to religiosity and psychological resilience, while there were no statistically significant correlations between alternative therapeutic interventions that the patient will use in the future to religiosity and psychological resilience. The results also revealed the possibility of predicting mental health through religiosity and psychological resilience.

Conclusion:

These results emphasized the importance of increased religiosity and psychological resilience among cancer patients.
A Case of Bilateral Acute Inferior Limb Ischemia in a Patient With Ulcerative Colitis
Authors: Kanazawa Mimari , Sugaya Takeshi , Takahashi Fumiaki , Takenaka Kazuhiro , Tsuchida Kouhei , Tominaga Keiichi , Majima Yuichi , Iijima Makoto , Goda Kenichi , Irisawa Atsushi
Published: March 2020

A patient was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis (UC) in 2010. In March 2015, she had abdominal pain, diarrhea, bloody stool, and UC has relapsed. In June 2015, pain and sensory disturbance of both lower limbs appeared. Blood flow at the distal femoral artery was not confirmed with magnetic resonance angiography, and it was diagnosed as bilateral acute inferior limb ischemia. Arterial thrombolectomy with Fogarty’s balloon catheter was performed and blood flow was improved. The severity of UC was moderate with Mayo score 8. Thrombosis is considered to be a complication with a high incidence in inflammatory bowel disease. Reports of arterial thrombosis are very rare. It is important to evaluate the risk of bleeding and thrombosis in active or severe cases in UC and need to do thrombotic prophylactic treatment simultaneously with UC treatment.
Managing risks or generating uncertainties? Ambiguous ontologies of testing in Australian healthcare
Authors: Pienaar Kiran , Petersen Alan , Bowman Diana M
Published: March 2020

Medical testing promises to establish certainty by providing a definitive assessment of risk or diagnosis. But can those who rely on tests to offer advice or make clinical decisions be assured of this certainty? This article examines how Australian health professionals, namely clinicians, microbiologists, specialist physicians and health policymakers, delineate the boundary between certainty and uncertainty in their accounts of medical testing. Applying concepts from science and technology studies, and drawing on qualitative data from a sociological study of testing in Australian healthcare, we consider how professionals ascribe meaning to testing and test results. As we argue, for these health professionals, the ‘evidence’ that testing generates has ambiguous ontological significance: while it promises to provide diagnostic certainty and clear direction for advice or treatment, it also generates uncertainties that may lead to yet further tests. Our analysis leads us to question a key premise of testing, namely that it is possible to establish certainty in medical practice via the measurement of individual health risks and disease markers. Against this dominant view, the responses of the health professionals in our study suggest that uncertainty is intrinsic to testing due to the constantly changing, unstable character of ‘evidence’. We conclude by considering the implications of our analysis in light of healthcare’s increasing reliance on sophisticated technologies of ‘personalised’ testing using genetic information and data analytics.
The arresting gaze: Artistic disruptions of antiblack surveillance
Authors: Monahan Torin
Published: March 2020

This article analyzes a range of art and performance pieces that unearth and problematize the racist cultural underpinnings of surveillance. Drawing upon recent black studies scholarship, I probe the ways that contemporary creative works disrupt dominant signifying regimes that would position racialized surveillance/violence couplings as historical and exceptional rather than as foundational and routine. I argue that such aesthetic disruptions achieve creative vitality by holding in tension exclusionary regimes of white liberal personhood, on one hand, and articulations of hope that depart from those regimes, on the other. Whereas the gaze of surveillance seeks to silence and arrest subjects, creative expression can undermine authorized forms of visuality by focusing on survival and community that persist in spite of it.
Intimate media and technological nature of sociality
Authors: Luthar Breda , Pušnik Maruša
Published: March 2020

The article argues for the audience studies, which draws on the analysis of artifactual, spatial, temporal, and sensorial aspects of media consumption and builds on, that is, the so-called medium theory and theory of practice in sociology. In the second part of the article, we interpret the results of a qualitative empirical study regarding the daily use of media technology among young people, aged between 19 and 29 years. The study finds that circumstances, under which digital media have colonized all spheres of public life and under which online social life has become completely naturalized, have led to constant online connectivity as well as highly fragmented and dispersed communication practices of users moving between different media. The analysis of media consumption diaries points to radical mediatization, which plays an important role in the changing generational structure of feeling.
Memes as snapshots of participation: The role of digital amateur activists in authoritarian regimes
Authors: Moreno-Almeida Cristina
Published: March 2020

In contexts where media and political actors cannot or will not address crucial issues important to ordinary people, alternative forms of communication emerge. This article suggests Internet memes as one of these forms. Analysis on memes, comments and reactions posted on Moroccan satirical Facebook pages suggests that online groups that define themselves as entertainment or ‘just for fun’ can spark instances of political participation. Through digital discourse analysis, I identify hidden discourses on power relations and oppression embodied in memes of the country’s monarchy. Conceptually, I suggest the role of digital amateur activists as architects and instigators of political debates that seek to disempower systems of oppression. Internet memes, this article contends, can build groups of participation that engage in important but often silenced political conversations. Furthermore, theorising memes in Morocco contributes to debates on memetic culture, entertainment media and the significance of amateur culture beyond the Anglophone world.
The culture of free: Construct explication and democratic ramifications for readers’ willingness to pay for public affairs news
Authors: Goyanes Manuel , Demeter Marton , de Grado Laura
Published: March 2020

The homogenization and commoditization of news have risen since the emergence of the Internet, but have sharply increased in recent years due to economic constraints on news organizations and journalists’ labor conditions. This article explores readers’ perceptions and attitudes toward the economic and informative value of online news in particular, and toward the Internet as a means of news dissemination in general. Drawing upon 50 in-depth interviews with respondents from Spain aged 18–65 years, we conceptualize the lack of readers’ inclinations to pay for digital news as a culture of free and explore its main dimensions. Specifically, the culture of free is a strong orientation to considering news as a public good that must be free of charge, rooted in customs/habits of free consumption on the Internet over decades, fueled by free competition, subtended by advertising, and a lack of interest in the news more generally. Despite the fact that the digital versions might be theoretically considered as inferior, we argue that both products (print vs online) are equally valuable (economically and informatively) and the only divergence lies in their format and thus in their price.
Choices are inevitable: A qualitative exploration of the lifecosts of systemic lupus erythematosus
Authors: Dixon J , Cardwell FS , Clarke Ann E , Elliott SJ
Published: March 2020

Objectives

Individuals with systemic lupus erythematosus experience considerable economic challenges. The aim of this research is to qualitatively investigate experiences of the lifecosts (direct and indirect economic costs and beyond) to those with systemic lupus erythematosus in Canada.

Methods

Using a biopsychosocial conceptual framework and integrated knowledge translation approach, qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with 3 physicians, 5 representatives from systemic lupus erythematosus advocacy groups, and 29 adult systemic lupus erythematosus patients. Themes emerged deductively and inductively, and the theme code set was used to code all transcripts.

Results

Three dominant themes emerged: (1) impacts of systemic lupus erythematosus on quality of life, relationships, and health; (2) costs linked to healthcare; and (3) impacts of living with systemic lupus erythematosus on employment/economic standing.

Discussion

Whereas previous work has focused almost exclusively on the direct, individual costs of systemic lupus erythematosus, the biopsychosocial approach taken here emphasizes not only the individual and intermediate factors (such as the workplace and family), but also the system-level factors (i.e. system-level policies) that influence quality of life, healthcare, and employment/economic experiences of those with systemic lupus erythematosus. Results indicate a need to target interventions beyond the individual and their immediate context, and recognize that lifecosts are shaped significantly by systems-level action.
Reduced egocentric bias when perspective-taking compared with working from rules
Authors: Samuel Steven , Frohnwieser Anna , Lurz Robert , Clayton Nicola S
Published: March 2020

Previous research has suggested that adults are sometimes egocentric, erroneously attributing their current beliefs, perspectives, and opinions to others. Interestingly, this egocentricity is sometimes stronger when perspective-taking than when working from functionally identical but non-perspectival rules. Much of our knowledge of egocentric bias comes from Level 1 perspective-taking (e.g., judging whether something is seen) and judgements made about narrated characters or avatars rather than truly social stimuli such as another person in the same room. We tested whether adults would be egocentric on a Level 2 perspective-taking task (judging how something appears), in which they were instructed to indicate on a continuous colour scale the colour of an object as seen through a filter. In our first experiment, we manipulated the participants’ knowledge of the object’s true colour. We also asked participants to judge either what the filtered colour looked like to themselves or to another person present in the room. We found participants’ judgements did not vary across conditions. In a second experiment, we instead manipulated how much participants knew about the object’s colour when it was filtered. We found that participants were biased towards the true colour of the object when making judgements about targets they could not see relative to targets they could, but that this bias disappeared when the instruction was to imagine what the object looked like to another person. We interpret these findings as indicative of reduced egocentricity when considering other people’s experiences of events relative to considering functionally identical but abstract rules.
‘You wonder ever if you’re a bad man?’: Toxic masculinity, paratexts and think pieces circulating around season one of HBO’sTrue Detective
Authors: Albrecht Michael Mario
Published: March 2020

When it premiered in 2014, the first season of HBO’s True Detective received rave critical reviews. Featuring two A-list Hollywood actors, and a writer/director team who were rising stars in the industry, the show had all of the key ingredients to earn the label ‘prestige TV’. However, alongside the critical claim were concomitant critiques of the show for its apparent misogyny. The season features depictions of violent crimes against women and girls and is told almost entirely from the perspective of two middle-aged men. The salient question was whether the show was misogynist or whether it was a show about misogyny. Many of these debates transpired in think pieces of online magazines and blogs such as Salon, Vulture, Jezebel, The New Yorker and The A.V. Club. In this article, I examine the ways in which these discourses of misogyny and masculinity circulate in these paratexts. Ultimately, I suggest that the question of whether the show is misogynist is less important than the fact that nuanced discussions about gender and power found a platform and an audience with a broad circulation.
Shooting for neutrality? Analysing bias in terrorism reports in Dutch newspapers
Authors: de Veen Linda , Thomas Richard
Published: March 2020

Similar to other nations, terrorism is a compelling preoccupation in the Netherlands. One issue in the public debate concerning news coverage is whether it fairly reports the perpetrators’ racial, ethnic and religious backgrounds. This article asks whether there is disproportionate attention (coverage bias), selection (gatekeeping bias) and presentation (statement bias) in various Dutch newspapers between 2015 and 2017. Using content analysis, the authors find all three types of bias present, albeit to different degrees. We propose that Critical Race Theory (CRT) usefully explains how bias is often unintentional and that journalistic outcomes are the consequence of unconsciously imprinted ideas about what constitutes a ‘terrorist’, facilitated and amplified by institutionalized media practices and wider societal power relations.
Carbazomarin: A New Potential of α-Glucosidase Inhibitor From Clausena excavata Roots
Authors: Aminah Nanik S. , Thant Tin M. , Kristanti Alfinda N. , Ramadhan Rico , Aung Hnin T. , Takaya Yoshiaki
Published: March 2020

Continuing our exploration for dual functions antidiabetic and antioxidant agents from Myanmar medicinal plant , a new carbazole-pyranocoumarin conjugate, carbazomarin-C (1) along with a known carbazole alkaloid, mukonine (2) and a pyranocoumarin, xanthoxyletin (3), was isolated from the roots of Clausena excavata. The chemical structures of these compounds were identified using a combination of spectroscopic methods. Among isolates, there was a strong inhibition of compounds (1) and (3) on yeast α-glucosidase in a dose-dependent manner. It was shown when p-nitrophenyl-α-d-glucopyranoside was used as a substrate in vitro with IC50 values 0.22 and 4.81 mM, respectively. However, all isolated compounds displayed no inhibition against DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) radicals.
Exploring the Insect Control and Plant Growth Promotion Potentials of Endophytes Isolated From Calotropis procera Present in Jeddah KSA
Authors: Ullah Ihsan , Al-Ghamdi Khalid M. S. , Anwar Yasir , A. Mahyoub Jazem
Published: March 2020

Pseudomonas bacteria are entomopathogenic that can naturally infect and kill insects upon ingestion. The insecticidal and plant growth-promoting roles of the bacteria were assessed by applying Pseudomonas IUK001 to insects and plants. The culture extract (CE) of IUK001 at the concentration of 1 mL/cm3 of an artificial diet was used as a treatment for Galleria mellonella larvae. The CE was heat stable at 70°C for 30 minutes and proteinase-K stable, showing 100% and 90% insecticidal activity against G. mellonella larvae. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis revealed the insecticidal compounds, for example, trans-cinnamic acid, ornithine, and cyclo (l-Pro-l-Val) in the CE of IUK001. Antibacterial activity was assessed through minimal inhibitory concentration and half-maximal inhibitory concentration values, which ranged from 28 ± 0.8 and 18.9 ± 0.7 to 8 ± 1.8 and 4.6 ± 0.6, respectively. Moreover, plants were inoculated with IUK001, which significantly enhanced ( P < 0.05) the total plant lengths (root + shoot), dry and fresh biomasses and chlorophyll content, and also induced lateral roots. Plant growth hormones, auxins: indole-3-butyric acid and indole-3- propionic acid, were then analyzed through GC–MS in the CE using their respective isotopic internal standards. The findings of the study suggest that IUK001 is a significantly valuable candidate to be exploited as a biocontrol agent as well as a plant growth promoter.
Diagnostic performance of D-dimer in predicting venous thromboembolism and acute aortic dissection
Authors: Koch Vitali , Biener Moritz , Müller-Hennessen Matthias , Vafaie Mershad , Staudacher Ingo , Katus Hugo A , Giannitsis Evangelos
Published: March 2020

Background

D-dimer is elevated in a variety of conditions. The purpose of this study was to assess the positive predictive value of D-dimer to rule in patients with confirmed pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis, acute aortic dissection or thrombosis of the upper extremity in comparison to patients with elevated D-dimer for other reasons.

Methods and results

We studied 1334 patients presenting to the emergency department with pulmonary embolism (n=193), deep vein thrombosis (n=73), acute aortic dissection (n=22), thrombosis of the upper extremity (n=8) and 1038 controls. The positive predictive value was increased with higher D-dimer concentrations improving the ability to identify diseases with high thrombus burden. Patients with venous thromboembolism, acute aortic dissection and thrombosis of the upper extremity showed a maximum positive predictive value of 85.2% at a D-dimer level of 7.8 mg/L (95% confidence interval (CI) 78.1 to 90.4). The maximum positive predictive value was lower in cancer patients with venous thromboembolism, acute aortic dissection and thrombosis of the upper extremity, reaching 68.9% at a D-dimer level of 7.5 mg/L (95% CI 57.4 to 78.4). The positive likelihood ratio was very consistent with the positive predictive value. Using a cut-off level of 0.5 mg/L, D-dimer showed a high sensitivity of at least 93%, but a very low specificity of nearly 0%. Conversely, an optimised cut-off value of 4.6 mg/L increased specificity to 95% for the detection of life-threatening venous thromboembolism, acute aortic dissection or thrombosis of the upper extremity at the costs of moderate sensitivities (58% for pulmonary embolism, 41% for deep vein thrombosis, 65% for pulmonary embolism with co-existent deep vein thrombosis, 50% for acute aortic dissection and 13% for thrombosis of the upper extremity). Using the same cut-off in cancer patients, higher values were observed for sensitivity at a specificity level of more than 95%. The area under the curve for the discrimination of venous thromboembolism/acute aortic dissection/thrombosis of the upper extremity from controls was significantly higher in cancer versus non-cancer patients (area under the curve 0.905 in cancer patients, 95% CI 0.89 to 0.92, vs. area under the curve 0.857 in non-cancer patients, 95% CI 0.84 to 0.88; P=0.0349).

Conclusion

D-dimers are useful not only to rule out but also to rule in venous thromboembolism and acute aortic dissection with an at least moderate discriminatory ability, both in patients with and without cancer.