bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Temporal Processing and the Experience of Rhythm
Authors: Will Udo
Published: January 2020

Chapter 14 considers the physiological, psychological, and social origins of rhythm. It reviews analytical data from music performances of Australian Aboriginal groups, arguing that processing differences for vocal and instrumental rhythms suggest dynamic neural models; these challenge an abstract conception of rhythm. As a result, it is difficult to regard the rhythm of speech as at the origin of vocal music, and which in turn gives rise to instrumental music. The author holds that vocal rhythms in speech and music, and instrumental rhythms, derive from different ways of interacting with our environment and are controlled by different temporal mechanisms. Thus instrumental music should be considered in parallel to vocal music, not as derived from it.
The Not-So-Silent Reading
Authors: Wallbank Rebecca
Published: January 2020

What does it mean to say that we appreciate rhythm in literature? To answer this question Chapter 22 adopts a two-fold approach: first, it sheds light on the ways in which readers attend to rhythm in literature, and second, it calls for a re-evaluation of certain common assumptions concerning literary aesthetic experience and appreciation. The chapter analyzes the impact of different forms of attention within aesthetic experiences, and through this aims to expose and enlighten the overlooked roles of rhythmic auditory-imagining within our experiences of literary works.
The River and Its Floodplain Environment
Authors: Saikia Arupjyoti
Published: January 2020

This chapter recounts the birth of a river and growth of a floodplain. Drawing from the geological, hydrological, and biological sciences and other similar works, the chapter narrates the river’s early geological history, the life and times of its waters, sands, soils, climate, monsoon, etc. While recounting these dynamics of the river, the chapter asks questions such as: Where do the Brahmaputra’s waters arise from? How does the sand move? Is the life on the land surrounding the river dependent on the latter? What happens when the river receives more water than it can carry? The chapter claims that an understanding of this deep history of the river is essential for a sense of the long, turbulent times the river has undergone and will experience in the future.
Introduction
Authors: Bhat P. Ishwara
Published: January 2020

The first chapter introduces the subject by explaining key words like research, legal research, method, and methodology. By linking knowledge with research, it brings out the purposive character of knowledge influencing research. It lists various objectives of legal research such as exploration, description, historical explanation, law reform, prediction, and publication, briefly explaining each. It traces the historical development of legal research in India thorugh ancient, medieval, colonial, and modern times. It finds that legal research became systematic and wide spread only along with orderly growth of legal education. Finally, it catalogues diverse methods of legal research under the categories of doctrinal, non-doctrinal, and integrated methods of legal research. Reader gets a basic idea about legal research, its past, present, and future potentiality and a glimpse of its wider canvas.
Thinking Process in Legal Research
Authors: Bhat P. Ishwara
Published: January 2020

The second chapter discusses the way and means of carrying out the thinking process in legal research. Thinking is always in response to memory or a situation that the mind comes across. The three important processes of thinking laid down by scholars are: reflective thinking, epistemological steps, and the scientific method. Each poses central research questions in response to problematic situations or difficulties and tries to find answers by expanding the thinking process. The formulation of a tentative answer called hypothesis, working about its viability in light of exhaustive collection of data, and drawing inferences are the phases of the research process. There are subtle differences and common features amidst these approaches, which the present chapter closely compares and contrasts. It also discusses the relation between fact and theory, the differences between deductive and inductive reasoning, and the method of correlating and applying them in the course of legal research.
Historical Legal Research
Authors: Bhat P. Ishwara
Published: January 2020

Study of history of laws and legal systems unravels their social dimensions and gives insight into the dynamics of economics, communitarian ethos, and the cultural trajectory beneath them. History unravels the growth of legal concepts, ideas, conscience of the community underlying the law, political and social movements which produced the law, and international relations, which shaped the law at the national and international levels. Within this discussion on historical legal research, the chapter discusses the following points: (a) the interrelated nature of internal legal history, which focuses on evolution of law making, and external legal history, which contextualises law in its social milieu; (b) how archival research, which is a part of historical study, should be conducted by examining the authenticity of the document, relation with events, and central proposition emerging in the discourse; (c) the building up of knowledge of the legal system by legal historians, judges, and scholars have through historical study; and (d) the application of internal and external criticisms to archival data in legal disputes involving historical disagreements.
Philosophical Research in Law
Authors: Bhat P. Ishwara
Published: January 2020

In spite of being abstract in higher levels of reasoning, the philosophical approach to legal research is expected to be rooted in social realities. Both at the lower and higher levels of jurisprudence, and in specific and general research inquiries, the possible assistance that can be gathered from philosophical research is substantial. By delineating its key features, and by abstracting instances through reverse engineering, the indispensability of philosophical research in law is highlighted in this chapter. Inter-disciplinary analysis is necessary to demonstrate the potential for facilitating the development of the legal system through employment of tools and processes such as intuitionalism, dialectical method, and reflective thinking. Deconstructing the philosophical research in law through the lens of adjudicative and norm-building processes has practical advantages. Thus, philosophical research is an indispensable instrument in the toolbox of a legal researcher.
Quantitative Legal Research
Authors: Bhat P. Ishwara
Published: January 2020

Study of statistical data becomes inevitable because of the far-reaching socio-economic dimensions, demographic factors, and political implications of law’s operation. Quantitative legal research (QLR) insists on scientific measurement of the phenomena and appropriate generalization based on data analysis. The growing importance of QLR can be found in the policy making and implementing function of legislature, judiciary, and administration, and in the works of the Law Commission, policy researchers, and legal academicians. Designing of QLR entails framing of research questions, hypothesis formulation, and testing of the hypothesis in light of the statistical data collected. The sample size should be statistically appropriate and collection, organisation, presentation, analysis, and interpretation of data in QLR needs to be systematic. Analysing quantitative data by focusing on proportion, central tendency, and deviation enables to observe trends.
Action Research in Law
Authors: Bhat P. Ishwara
Published: January 2020

Being action-oriented and having competence to bring specific consequence, law’s course of action can be part of research. A legal researcher need not be a dumb spectator to violation of rights and occurrence of injustice. By collaborating with the affected community or civil society the researcher assists in getting remedy to the affected. It involves democratic process, inter-disciplinary approach, and judicial activism. Designing for action research envisages gathering of diverse experiences of participants, discussion about the future, projection of collective vision, contemplation of alternative approaches, and initiation of action. There are varieties of participatory models and tools for action research ranging from interactive dramas, investigative journalism, and cafe conversations. Analysing how action research in law helps in protection of human rights, the chapter highlights the application of action-oriented research for protection of human rights in international instruments, public interest litigation, actions of human rights commissions, and NGOs for human rights.
Legal Writing Based on Research
Authors: Bhat P. Ishwara
Published: January 2020

Like other forms of legal writing, such as client-related writing for litigation and transaction purposes and norm-creating legal writing in the form of legislation and judgments, academic legal writing based on research has great importance for legal development. Its forms include research report, article, notes/comments, and book review. Clarity of expression, continuity of thought, coherent presentation, and readability are the ideals to be attained. Formulation of ideas by responding to data and perspectives of legal ideals is a good starting point for preparation of a draft. Sketching the outline or synopsis or writing an abstract provides some shape to the draft thesis. Writing with originality and by due acknowledgement of sources; maintaining fairly high level of discussion; and writing without bias, deviations and repetition contribute to quality writing. Finally, post-draft refinement should address the issues of avoiding errors of language, subject, and technicality of references.
The Right to Education in India
Authors: Matthey-Prakash Florian
Published: January 2020

What does it mean for education to be a fundamental right, and how may children benefit from it? Surprisingly, even when the right to education was added to the Indian Constitution as Article 21A, this question received barely any attention. This book identifies justiciability (or, more broadly, enforceability) as the most important feature of Article 21A, meaning that children and their parents must be provided with means to effectively claim their right from the state. Otherwise, it would remain a ‘right’ only on paper. The book highlights how lack of access to the Indian judiciary means that the constitutional promise of justiciability is unfulfilled, particularly so because the poor, who cannot afford quality private education for their children, must be the main beneficiaries of the right. It then deals with possible alternative means the state may provide for the poor to claim the benefits under Article 21A, and identifies the grievance redress mechanism created by the Right to Education Act as a potential system of enforcement. Even though this system is found to be deficient, the book concludes with an optimistic outlook, hoping that rights advocates may, in the future, focus on improving such mechanisms for legal empowerment.
History and the Current State of Elementary Education in India
Authors: Matthey-Prakash Florian
Published: January 2020

Chapter 1 gives an overview of the history and current status of the education system in India. It identifies parts of the society whom Article 21A is primarily aimed at, and what the most pressing issues to be addressed in the field of primary and lower secondary education are. It is quite clear that those who might profit from having a right to education are those who do not have the means to already afford quality education for themselves by obtaining it from the private market and who are, therefore, dependent on some form of state action. Strangely, it will be shown, even after years of education being a fundamental right, decent-quality education is still not seen as a ‘public good’ that the state ought to provide for free but something that is supposed to be obtained from the market, with the government education system being considered as something ‘meant for (very) poor children’.
From a Directive Principle to a Fundamental Right
Authors: Matthey-Prakash Florian
Published: January 2020

Chapter 2 recounts the developments around adjudication of fundamental rights and directive principles that climaxed with the inclusion of Article 21A in the constitutional text. By examining the historical background of the Eighty-Ninth Constitutional Amendment, the chapter then tries to find some answers concerning its doctrinal and practical significance.Surprisingly, the chapter concludes, there was very little of a ‘vision’ of what the purpose of Article 21A would be. Still, the fundamental right to elementary education is now part of the constitutional text, and the fact that there is one explicitly justiciable socio-economic right might have a significance that goes beyond mere symbolism. Whatever the motivation for including Article 21A in the constitutional text may have been (even if the intention was only to symbolically declare that the State takes the matter of elementary education seriously, or to appease groups calling for State action), the provision is now part of the constitutional text, and the judiciary is called upon to adjudicate on it when it is approached.
Article 21A
Authors: Matthey-Prakash Florian
Published: January 2020

Chapter 3 offers some guidance concerning the content of Article 21A. This question is approached purely legally, not politically. Therefore, the chapter does not describe what content would be desirable. Instead, it discusses which concrete legal obligations the article might impose on the state. It also highlights that Article 21A, read with Articles 32 and 226, clearly imposes an obligation on the state to provide accessible and effective enforcement mechanisms to right-bearers. The fact that the petitioners in none of the cases concerning Article 21A decided by the Supreme Court, and in hardly any cases decided by the high courts, were aggrieved children or their parents shows that the higher judiciary is not accessible enough.
Conceptualizing the Social
Authors: Guru Gopal , Sarukkai Sundar
Published: January 2020

The concept of the social has been discussed extensively in sociology and other related disciplines. This chapter traces a particular problem related to the ambiguity of this term over time. One perspective is that the social can be seen as a unity, a given whole which cannot really be broken into parts made up of individuals. Or it could be seen as a field which is spread out, located in space and time, and having properties that are ‘experienceable’. Depending on which theories of space and time we hold, we could have different ideas of the social. This has led many to the claim that the social is not a useful term as an object of study. We discuss the various strengths and weakness of these claims and end with a brief summary of some current positions in social ontology.
Metaphysical and Lived Time of the Social
Authors: Guru Gopal , Sarukkai Sundar
Published: January 2020

In this chapter we add another layer to the various qualities of the social, a quality which, in our view, is the most important element of the social—the ethical. Or more aptly, the experience of the ethical. A social is cognized through an affectual, ethical relationship along with its other perceptual modes. The special character of this experience is what marks out the uniqueness of the human social. Thus, our fundamental experience of the social is ethical. Belongingness that characterizes the everyday social is primarily an ethical experience. We then go on to discuss Narayana Guru and the idea of equality, and the idea of inter-generational equality which is presupposed in caste dynamics. These everyday experiences create a sense of social time and we explore the implications of this for an ethics of the social.
Poverty and Inequality
Authors: Jha Raghbendra , Sharma Anurag
Published: January 2020

Raghabendra Jha and Anurag Sharma point out despite twenty years of accelerated growth, the persistence of mass poverty, perceived rising inequality, and their spatial variation cause disquiet. The accuracy of yardsticks that show improvement is questioned. Adequacy of nutrition, the traditional rationale for the poverty line, has not recorded impressive gains. The best means of lowering poverty, which reforms have not achieved, is to create mass scale jobs for poor and unskilled workers. The chapter advances suggestions for this and for better targeting of anti-poverty interventions. Aadhaar-based direct benefit transfers and attempts to expand low-skilled manufacturing in India are therefore hopeful signs.
Promoting Special Economic Zones as a Strategy of Industrialization and Lessons Learned
Authors: Aggarwal Aradhna
Published: January 2020

Aradhna Aggarwal in examining the formation and evolution of SEZ policy and its contribution to Indian industrialization over different phases draws lessons for new policies. Contextual solutions require experimentation, but continuity of government support over the political cycles is also essential. Commercial sustainability with some legal backing may be the way for policy consistency, making special initiatives independent of the government. To the extent special concessions are given, some sunset clause, or else use of competition, and appropriate regulation to prevent rent-seeking, would be required. Tax concessions could be reduced as other constraints ease. A CAG report that highlighted the large tax losses, and the large percentage of unutilized land in SEZs, points to the necessity of both proper design and implementation. But a blind anti-industry position is counterproductive when employment generation is the way to reduce poverty. Strategic vision and dynamic learning must combine with a political will to implement.
India and the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control
Authors: Nachiappan Karthik
Published: January 2020

In this chapter, I chronicle how India negotiates the FCTC by mapping how the globalization of tobacco in the 1980s and 1990s shaped India’s interests vis-à-vis multilateral tobacco control, how the key domestic institution, MOHFW, grappled with India’s tobacco use problem, which was itself the legacy of tobacco going global, and sought to address it through COTPA and how their intent for tougher tobacco rules, with support from interest groups advocating tougher tobacco control, shaped India’s approach at FCTC negotiations and ratification.
India and the Framework Convention on Climate Change
Authors: Nachiappan Karthik
Published: January 2020

In this chapter, I outline how India negotiates the FCCC by unpacking how the international debates around global warming in the 1980s and its possible redress influenced India’s interests vis-à-vis climate change, privileging views that prioritized development, not climate, how two key institutions— MEA and MOEF wrestled with whether and how India was experiencing climate change and how their perspectives on global warming were informed and reinforced by two interest groups—TERI and CSE who worked with MEA and MOEF officials to sharpen India’s defensive climate strategy at UNFCCC negotiations and ratification thereafter.
The Mundane and Incorporeal Aspects of Yoga Psychology
Authors: Dwivedi Chandra Bhal
Published: January 2020

This chapter reviews the developments in yoga psychology. While the Yoga Sūtras are pre-eminently psychological in nature, the treatment of psychological phenomena has been attempted from the perspective of self-realization. The functional mind (citta) comprises not only cognitive, affective and conative processes (Karmas), but also contains instinctual tendencies (vāsanās) that are inherited from previous lives as subliminal-impressions (samskāras). These vāsanās and samskāras tend to colour our cognitions and predispose us to behave in certain ways. The chapter critically analyses these key concepts and situates them in contemporary psychological context. A brief description of the Jaina and Buddhist yoga systems and other varieties of yoga that are prevalent today is also provided. Finally, a review of the empirical studies is presented that showcases the mundane and incorporeal aspects of yoga psychology and outlines several issues for further investigation.
Facing the Challenge
Authors: Misra Girishwar , Pirta Raghubir Singh
Published: January 2020

This chapter outlines the key challenges that psychology faces in India. It elaborates upon the four aspects of this challenge: the interdisciplinary nature of the problems of mind and behaviour; the need for integrative view of mental problems; the rigorous effort necessary for the development of appropriate methods and measures; and the need to relate psychology to cultural and social realities of the country. The discipline needs to reposition itself to meet the challenges of society and promotion of scholarship by adopting an integrative pedagogical approach. As the discipline has become multivocal, multidirectional, and struggling to reorient and address culturally relevant issues, a paradigm shift is needed. The signs of decolonization of mind are appearing. The teaching and practice of psychology is going beyond the received positivist and predominantly unicultural model. East and West do not stand face to face but pave the way for new integrative science of mind.
Culture, Cognition, and Pedagogy
Authors: Baveja Bharati
Published: January 2020

This chapter begins with identification of paradigmatic shifts in the discourse of cognitive psychology. A ‘person-in-context’ approach is advanced which assumes that culture is a constituent of mind and asserts that knowledge is constructed by the knower. These constructions begin as personal or idiosyncratic. As learners are social beings these constructions are socially shared. In the process, the diversity and incongruence between constructions and the pluralistic nature of knowledge are recognized. People function as a community and move towards a shared understanding. This is a significant ontogenetic process in the life of any learner. Therefore, this ontogeny needs to be reflected in the approaches to pedagogy. The chapter critically analyses current research in the field of cognition and pedagogy and highlights the future directions of research. Also, the implications of this research for the future of education are indicated.
Epithymetics
Authors: Nair Rukmini Bhaya
Published: January 2020

This chapter proposes an interdisciplinary field of studies called ‘epithymetics‘ (Latin, ‘pertaining to desire’). It is argued that the concept of desire may have especial relevance as India integrates today into a ‘world economy of desire’. India offers an ideal location for the initiation of such a field since analyses of desire, from Buddhism to Bollywood, have had an impressive pedigree on the subcontinent. The key features of desire as a social psychological construct are delineated. The triangular relationship between the thrills of consumerism, the excitements of the market, and desires both bodily and mental is analysed. Epithymetics may illuminate basic questions about the cognitive foundations of selfhood as it has evolved today in a fast-paced, Internet-guided ‘meme-world’. Studies in neuroscience may be exploited and cross-cultural studies, as well as the micro-analysis of qualitative data would be relevant to augment ‘desire studies’.
Positive Psychology
Authors: Mehrotra Seema , Tripathi Ravikesh
Published: January 2020

The field of positive psychology is a relatively recent addition to the research agenda of Indian psychologists. This chapter comprehensively examines the themes pursued in this field. It begins with an overview of the Indigenous Indian thought in terms of the insights it offers for positive psychology. Research studies on meanings and sources of happiness and interventions for the promotion of well-being are analysed. Key challenges to the growth of positive psychology are identified and a general framework for research is offered. In particular, attention is drawn towards the nature of research questions, scope for cultural contributions, nuances of research designs and expansion of the methodological repertoire. As the thoughts and intentions are coloured with the hues of emotions and get reflected in language, psychologists have to be sensitive to the linguistic diversity and nuances of verbal expressions across different regions of India.
Socialization and Parenting
Authors: Kapadia Shagufa
Published: January 2020

This chapter offers a theoretical and empirical perspective on socialization and parenting in the Indian cultural context. It critically examines the role of gender role expectations, micro ecology of family, and maternal employment in child development. The mediating effects of availability of resources, inconsistency in experiences of care, and availability of other nurturing caregivers and participation of fathers are also examined. It is observed that the parent–adolescent relationship is becoming more democratic, with parents participating actively in adolescents’ lives. Overall, research on socialization reflects positive trends such as the steady growth of culturally sensitive perspectives and attempts to engage with social change influences. However, the focus on middle-class contexts has precluded understanding of cultural diversity. It is concluded that further studies on the interplay of tradition and modernity, shifting power balance in parent–child relationship, and parenting across life span are warranted.
Moral and Ethical Dimensions of Corporate Life
Authors: Sengupta Sunita Singh , Sengupta Ayesha
Published: January 2020

This chapter explores the moral and ethical dimensions of Indian corporate life. Adopting a historical approach, the links between prevailing models and the differentials in pre-colonial and postcolonial socio-cultural and business scenarios are identified. In particular, the greed-based management model is critically examined. An inspiration-based management model rooted in the indigenous Indian thought and cultural practices, which impress upon a deep sense of morality is advanced. The potential for such an approach is substantiated with the help of instances of contemporary business leaders who developed their enterprises on the same value system. Such cases are deliberated and their implications for current practices are indicated. Interventions are becoming necessary in contemporary business world where malpractices are increasing. Taking a historical route, the chapter also analyses the complexities of current corporate scandals across the world. Finally, the implications for strengthening the moral order in organizational behaviour are highlighted.
Spectacle of the Consumer
Authors: De Sonali
Published: January 2020

Consumption is one of the key processes in the emerging materialist culture. Keeping in view the fact that consumer forms the central axis in modern economy, this chapter focusses on the interface between commodity, social values, and the consumer. It begins with an analysis of the meaning of the notion of consumption and explication of the construction of the identity of Indian consumer. Then it brings out the dynamics of marketing strategies of branding and product identity. In particular, the present analysis highlights how the media constructs the meaning and uses symbolism for product promotion. The relation of materialism and commodity fetish is also discussed. Finally, the chapter highlights some of the initiatives exhibiting the process of cultural resistance to uncontrolled consumption in the context of Indian value system.
Preventive and Promotive Interventions for Young Children with Psychological Problems
Authors: Hirisave Uma , Poornima M. Nithya
Published: January 2020

Psychological research on preventive intervention and promotion of mental health of children has been gaining impetus over the last few decades. This chapter presents key concepts of preventive mental health as applicable to working with young children between the ages of 0 to 6 years. The context of preventive child mental health in India has been clarified by briefly tracing models of child development, empirical studies and national policies and programmes. Recent research focussing on modes of prevention and wellness promotion has been reviewed. The studies reviewed have far-reaching implications for promotion of mental health among young children at various levels. Directions for future research that have been derived from the analysis have been outlined.
Introduction
Authors: James Carolyn
Published: January 2020

The historical specificity of how patriarchy was interpreted and the ways in which social position and gender interacted to shape an elite marital relationship are the focus of this study of Isabella d’Este and Francesco Gonzaga. The pair’s agile improvisations in relation to masculine and feminine identities and to the division of work, were usually prompted by the diplomatic dilemmas they faced. Inevitably such experiments prompted uncertainty and sometimes sharp discord, as they struggled to work out a modus vivendi in a rapidly changing and perilous political environment. In analysing how this marriage was inhabited emotionally, alongside how it operated politically, the book aims to uncover the intricate intertwining of the private and public in a marriage that had to succeed on both levels.
The Crafting of Identity and the Division of Political Labour
Authors: James Carolyn
Published: January 2020

The use of gender as a category of historical analysis has prompted historians to rethink the modalities of politics during the Renaissance period. While women were rarely rulers in their own right, they sometimes exercised a political authority drawn from cultural influence, or directly assigned to their person by virtue of deputizing for absent husbands. This chapter explores the extent to which the political collaboration of Isabella d’Este and Francesco Gonzaga emulated precedents established by their parents and grandparents. The ways in which Isabella exploited gender tropes, or submitted to them, is considered alongside Francesco Gonzaga’s projection of a virile masculine identity, through an analysis of how the pair used art and other forms of cultural patronage to shape their respective identities and political qualities.
Conclusion
Authors: James Carolyn
Published: January 2020

Isabella d’Este and Francesco Gonzaga together navigated the highs and many lows of the first conflicts of the Italian Wars, their cooperation underpinned by a mutual devotion to their children and concern for the future of the Gonzaga regime. But this study has shown that it was difficult to agree about the terms of that collaboration, a situation that the richly nuanced sources permit us to understand within the terms of premodernity. The couple’s acrimonious epistolary negotiations during the last years of their union over the extent to which the conventional marital hierarchy should be observed provide evidence of the powerful influence of gendered norms, but also of how prescriptive social rules might at times be modified or ignored by individuals when pragmatic issues overtook ideology.
The Federal Case for Women’s Suffrage
Authors: Aronson Amy
Published: January 2020

In 1911, following the loss of her mother, Crystal Eastman married Wallace “Bennie” Benedict and moved to his home state of Wisconsin. Unable to find work as a lawyer, she accepted a job as campaign manager for the state’s suffrage drive. After a vicious battle, including opposition from the powerful brewing industry and elected officials, the measure lost two to one. Eastman returned to the Village in 1913, with Bennie in tow. He would soon initiate an affair, inciting a divorce that was finalized in 1916. Meanwhile, Eastman had united with Alice Paul and Lucy Burns, organizing the younger, more confrontational suffrage women to found the militant wing of the suffrage movement that became the National Woman’s Party. The group’s actions inside and outside the US Congress, including spectacular demonstrations and White House picketing to target the “party in power”—Woodrow Wilson and the Democrats—would finally leverage votes for women.
How Strong Is the Evidence for the Effectiveness of Working Memory Training?
Authors: Bastian Claudia C. von , Guye Sabrina , Simoni Carla De
Published: January 2020

This chapter argues that the question of whether working memory training can induce cognitive plasticity in terms of transfer effects cannot be conclusively answered yet due to persisting methodological issues across the literature. The shortcomings discussed include the lack of theoretically motivated selection of training and transfer tasks, the lack of active control groups, and small sample sizes. These problems call into question the strength of the existing evidence. Indeed, reevaluating published findings with Bayesian inference indicated that only a subset of published studies contributed interpretable evidence. The chapter concludes that the current body of literature cannot conclusively support claims that WM training does or does not improve cognitive abilities and stresses the need for theory-driven, methodologically sound studies with larger sample sizes.
Music Training
Authors: Okada Brooke M. , Slevc L. Robert
Published: January 2020

This chapter focuses on the possibility that music training could serve as a type of cognitive training. Music is an interesting potential avenue for cognitive training not only because music learning and processing are likely to draw heavily on executive function abilities, but also because musical experience has its own intrinsic rewards. This suggests that music training might serve as a particularly enjoyable and rewarding route to cognitive training. The authors describe some theoretical reasons to expect a strong relationship between executive function and music, describe the small body of work that has experimentally assessed the possibility that musical experience might transfer to executive function abilities, and finally recommend ways in which a music training program might strengthen cognitive abilities.
Characterizing ‘Civil Unrest’ within Public Health: Implications for Public Health Research and Practice
Authors: DiStefano Michael J
Published: January 2020

Following the death on April 19, 2015 of Freddie Gray from injuries sustained while unarmed and in police custody, many citizens of Baltimore took to the streets and the National Guard was called into the city. A 2017 article published in the American Journal of Public Health measured the effect of this civil unrest on maternal and child health. I argue that this research does not acknowledge the full range of motivations, behaviors, aims and values that may have been inherent in this unrest. I first describe the article’s characterization of Baltimore’s unrest as community violence. I then provide a negative argument against employing this characterization alone, before providing positive arguments for two alternative characterizations—as protest and apt anger. Finally, I discuss upshots of considering these alternatives. Broadly, while viewing civil unrest as community violence focuses exclusive attention on victims of unrest, these alternatives direct attention to unrest participants, with implications for public health research and practice. While I focus on Baltimore’s 2015 unrest, the proposals raised here apply wherever civil unrest occurs.
Fecundity and early life of the deep-water jellyfish Periphylla periphylla
Authors: BÅMSTEDT U L F , SÖtje Ilka , Tiemann Henry , Martinussen Monica Bente
Published: January 2020

Comparisons over 6 years of three Norwegian fjord populations of the deep-water scyphomedusa Periphylla periphylla are presented. A minor part of the population in Lurefjord is migrating to the surface during night, which benefits mating encounters by increasing abundance per unit volume and decreasing the distance between individuals. Simulations using a typical water-column density profile and Stoke’s law show that fertilized eggs released in the surface quickly reach a depth where light is insufficient for visual predators. Consequently, the distribution of the smallest juveniles was strongly skewed towards higher depths in all three fjords studied. Mature females in Sognefjord were 4–5 times less abundant than in Lurefjord and Halsafjord, but due to a larger size and strong exponential relationship between size and number of mature oocytes, the potential recruitment rate as recruits m−2 year−1 was not much different from the other two fjords. Nevertheless, the observed number of small (<1 cm) juveniles was 18–31 times higher in Sognefjord than in the other two fjords, and it is assumed that the deeper habitat (up to 1300 m) compared to the other fjords (up to 440 and 530 m) is a superior habitat for the early development of P. periphylla.
Diagnostic capability of contrast-enhanced pelvic girdle magnetic resonance imaging in polymyalgia rheumatica
Authors: Fruth Martin , Seggewiss Annika , Kozik Jessica , Martin-Seidel Philipp , Baraliakos Xenofon , Braun Juergen
Published: January 2020

Objective

There is currently no diagnostic test for PMR. A characteristic pattern of extracapsular inflammation as assessed by contrast-enhanced MRI (ceMRI) has recently been described in the pelvis of patients with PMR. We aimed to evaluate the performance of inflammatory ceMRI signals at predefined pelvic sites as a diagnostic test for PMR.

Methods

Pelvic MRI scans of patients with pelvic girdle pain (n = 120), including 40 patients with an expert diagnosis of PMR and 80 controls with other reasons for pelvic pain were scored by three blinded radiologists, who evaluated the degree of contrast enhancement at 19 predefined tendinous and capsular pelvic structures. Different patterns of involvement were analysed statistically.

Results

The frequency of bilateral peritendinitis and pericapsulitis including less common sites, such as the proximal origins of the m. rectus femoris and m. adductor longus, differed significantly between PMR cases and controls: 13.4 ± 2.7 vs 4.0 ± 2.3. A cut-off of ≥10 inflamed sites discriminated well between groups (sensitivity 95.8%, specificity 97.1%). Bilateral inflammation of the insertion of the proximal m. rectus femoris or adductor longus tendons together with ≥3 other bilaterally inflamed sites performed even better (sensitivity 100%, specificity 97.5%).

Conclusion

This study confirms that a distinctive MRI pattern of pelvic inflammation (bilateral peritendinitis and pericapsulitis and the proximal origins of the m. rectus femoris and m. adductor longus) is characteristic for PMR. The high sensitivity and specificity of the set of anatomical sites evaluated suggests their clinical usefulness as a confirmatory diagnostic test.
Validation of the new classification criteria for hereditary recurrent fever in an independent cohort: experience from the JIR Cohort Database
Authors: Dingulu Glory , Georgin-Lavialle Sophie , Koné-Paut Isabelle , Pillet Pascal , Pagnier Anne , Merlin Etienne , Kaiser Daniela , Belot Alexandre , Hofer Michael , Hentgen Véronique
Published: January 2020

Objective

The new classification criteria for the hereditary recurrent fever (HRF) syndrome [cryopyrin-associated periodic syndrome (CAPS), TNF-α receptor-associated periodic syndrome (TRAPS), FMF and mevalonate kinase deficiency] have been published recently. These criteria define two core sets of criteria for each HRF: mixed criteria, including genetic and clinical variables, and clinical criteria, relying on clinical variables only. Our aim was to validate the criteria for HRF in an independent cohort, the JIR Cohort database, an international repository of systemic inflammatory diseases.

Methods

We enrolled patients with HRF, periodic fever, adenitis, pharyngitis and aphthous stomatitis syndrome (PFAPA) and syndrome of undefined recurrent fever (SURF). A score ranging from zero to two was attributed to their respective genotypes: zero (no mutation), one (non-confirmatory genotype) or two (confirmatory genotype). The criteria were applied to all patients based on genotype scoring. The treating physician’s diagnosis served as the gold standard for the determination of specificity.

Results

We included 455 patients. The classification criteria showed excellent specificity for CAPS and TRAPS (98% specificity each), fair specificity for FMF (88%), but poor specificity for mevalonate kinase deficiency (58%). Sub-analysis showed excellent accuracy of the mixed criteria for all four HRFs. Misclassification was mainly attributable to clinical criteria sets, with false-positive patients in all four HRF clinical criteria sets.

Conclusion

This study represents the final validation step of the HRF classification criteria as recommended by the ACR. Genetic data appear to be necessary to classify patients with HRF correctly.
Affiliative bonding between teachers and students through interpersonal synchronisation in brain activity
Authors: Zheng Lifen , Liu Wenda , Long Yuhang , Zhai Yu , Zhao Hui , Bai Xialu , Zhou Siyuan , Li Kanyu , Zhang Huan , Liu Li , Guo Taomei , Ding Guosheng , Lu Chunming
Published: January 2020

Human beings organise socially. Theories have posited that interpersonal neural synchronisation might underlie the creation of affiliative bonds. Previous studies tested this hypothesis mainly during a social interaction, making it difficult to determine whether the identified synchronisation is associated with affiliative bonding or with social interaction. This study addressed this issue by focusing on the teacher–student relationship in the resting state both before and after a teaching period. Brain activity was simultaneously measured in both individuals using functional near-infrared spectroscopy. The results showed a significant increase in brain synchronisation at the right sensorimotor cortex between the teacher and student in the resting state after, but not before, the teaching period. Moreover, the synchronisation increased only after a turn-taking mode of teaching but not after a lecturing or video mode of teaching. A chain mediation analysis showed that brain synchronisation during teaching partially mediated the relationship between the brain synchronisation increase in the resting state and strength of the affiliative bond. Finally, both role assignment and social interaction were found to be required for affiliative bonding. Together, these results support the hypothesis that interpersonal synchronisation in brain activity underlies affiliative bonding and that social interaction mechanically mediates the bonding process.
Myriad post-Myriad
Authors: Ghosh Shubha
Published: January 2020

The US Supreme Court’s 2013 decision, holding patent claims to isolated, endogenous deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequences to be invalid, seemed to have limited negative impact on Myriad Genetics whose patent on the isolated BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes were at the heart of the case. This article explains this minimal impact in two ways. First, the Court’s decision still left synthetic DNA patentable, leaving that as a fruitful source for commercialization by companies like Myriad. The Federal Circuit’s subsequent decision, however, invalidated Myriad’s product claims over the synthetic polymerase chain reaction primers based on the isolated DNA sequences. Second, the Court’s decision did not address the patentability of mined genetic data for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. This field of genetic data mining is precisely where Myriad has moved in its patenting activity.
Lassa fever in pregnancy: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Kayem Nzelle D , Benson Charlotte , Aye Christina Y L , Barker Sarah , Tome Mariana , Kennedy Stephen , Ariana Proochista , Horby Peter
Published: January 2020

Lassa fever is a zoonotic infection endemic to West Africa and is known to have adverse effects in pregnancy. We sought to synthesize and critically appraise currently available evidence on the effects of Lassa fever in pregnancy. An exhaustive bibliographic search from dates of inception to 30 September 2019 yielded 13 studies, from which individual patient data were extracted. The absolute risk of maternal death associated with Lassa fever was estimated at 33.73% (95% CI 22.05 to 46.42%, I2=72.40%, p=0.0014). The relative risk of death in pregnant women compared with non-pregnant women was estimated at 2·86 (95% CI 1.77 to 4.63, I2=27.27%, p=0.239). The formal gap analysis shows imprecise data on the risk of Lassa-related maternal and perinatal mortality and insufficient data for other pregnancy outcomes. The currently available evidence for the use of ribavirin in pregnant patients is not conclusive. With a threefold increased risk of mortality, there is a need to prioritize pregnant women as a special subgroup of interest for Lassa research. Robust prospective studies estimating the true incidence of adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes and randomized controlled trials to evaluate the efficacy of therapeutics for maternal Lassa virus infection are urgently needed.
The Composition of the Fungal and Oomycete Microbiome of Rhododendron Roots Under Varying Growth Conditions, Nurseries, and Cultivars
Authors: Foster Z. S. L. , Weiland J. E. , Scagel C. F. , Grünwald N. J.
Published: January 2020

The microbiome of agricultural crops influences processes such as nutrient absorption, drought stress, and susceptibility to pathogens. Interactions between a plant’s genotype and its environment influence the composition of the microbiome, but these interactions are not well understood. We compared how the fungal and oomycete microbiomes of rhododendrons from Oregon nurseries differed among cultivars, growth conditions, and nurseries. Roots were sampled from randomly selected container and field-grown plants of three cultivars of rhododendron at four nurseries. The internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) barcode was sequenced with the Illumina MiSeq using two sets of primers specific to fungi and oomycetes, respectively. Sequences were used to infer community composition using VSEARCH and a custom reference database combining curated fungal and oomycete sequences. Comparisons of diversity and community composition were conducted in R using the vegan and metacoder packages. Organism lifestyle was inferred using the FUNGuild database. Few oomycetes were found and fungal communities were dominated by saprobes and mutualists. Nurseries that grew plants in containers and in-field had a significantly higher diversity of fungi than those that only grew plants in containers. Microbiome composition differed significantly among growth conditions and nurseries, but not among cultivars. This suggests that, among these cultivars of rhododendron, environment is important in structuring the root microbiome, but cultivar is not.