bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
External Community Review Committee: A New Strategy for Engaging Community Stakeholders in Research Funding Decisions
Authors: Smith Maureen A. , Kaufman Nancy J. , Dearlove Andrea J.
Published: September 2013

Background: Major gaps exist between what we know and what we do in clinical practice and community health programs and narrowing this gap will require substantive partnerships between academic researchers and the communities they serve.
Objectives: We describe a research pilot award program that makes a unique commitment to community engagement through the addition of an External Community Review Committee to the typical research review process that gives external stakeholders decision-making power over research funding.
Methods: Whereas engaging community reviewers in discussion and rating of research proposals is not novel, the ICTR ECRC review process is distinct in that it is subsequent to peer review and uses different criteria and methodology. This method of engagement allows for the community review panel to re-rank scientifically meritorious proposals—such that proposals funded do not necessarily follow the rank order from scientific peer review. The approach taken by UW ICTR differs from those discussed in the literature that present a model of community-academic co-review.
Results: This article provides guidance for others interested in this model of community engagement and reviews insights gained during the evolution of this strategy; including how we addressed conflict, how the committee was able to change the pilot award program over time, and individual roles that were crucial to the success of this approach.
Conclusions: The advantages of this approach include success through traditional academic metrics while achieving an innovative shared-power mechanism for community engagement which we believe is critical for narrowing the gap between knowledge and practice.
Community Capacity Building: A Collaborative Approach to Designing a Training and Education Model
Authors: Goytia Crispin N. , Todaro-Rivera Lea , Brenner Barbara , Shepard Peggy , Piedras Veronica , Horowitz Carol
Published: September 2013

Background: Successful community–academic research partnerships require building the capacity of both community-based organizations (CBOs) and academics to conduct collaborative research of mutual interest and benefit. Yet, information about the needs and goals of research-interested CBOs is lacking. Our partnership aimed to conduct a community research needs assessment and to use results to develop future capacity-building programs for CBOs.
Methods: Based on our review of the literature, informal interviews with research-interested CBOs and community-engaged research groups locally and nationally, we developed a needs assessment survey. Key domains of this survey included history and experience with research collaboration, interest in specific research topics, and preference for learning format and structure. We trained community health workers (CHWs) to recruit senior leaders from CBOs in New York City (NYC) and encourage them to complete an on-line survey.
Results: Fully 54% (33/61) of CBOs completed the needs assessment. Most (69%) reported involvement with research or evaluation in the last 2 years and 33% had some funding for research. Although 75% had collaborated with academic institutions in the past, 58% did not rate this experience well. The four areas respondents prioritized for skills building were program evaluation, developing needs assessments, building surveys, and understanding statistical analyses. They were less interested in learning to build collaborations with academics.
Conclusions: A formal needs assessment of research training and educational needs of CBOs revealed that most had experience, albeit negative, with academic collaborations. CBO leaders wanted to build skills to conduct and analyze assessments and program evaluations. Our community–academic partnership is using these findings to develop a research capacity-building course. Other partnerships should consider conducting such assessments to transform the capacity of CBOs to be active research partners and leaders.
Rural Oregon Community Perspectives: Introducing Community-Based Participatory Research into a Community Health Coalition
Authors: Young-Lorion Julia , Davis Melinda M. , Kirks Nancy , Hsu Anna , Slater Jana Kay , Rollins Nancy , Aromaa Susan , McGinnis Paul
Published: September 2013

The Community Health Improvement Partnership (CHIP) model has supported community health development in more than 100 communities nationally. In 2011, four rural Oregon CHIPs collaborated with investigators from the Oregon Rural Practice-based Research Network (ORPRN), a component of the Oregon Clinical and Translational Research Institute (OCTRI), to obtain training on research methods, develop and implement pilot research studies on childhood obesity, and explore matches with academic partners. This article summarizes the experiences of the Lincoln County CHIP, established in 2003, as it transitioned from CHIP to Community Health Improvement and Research Partnership (CHIRP). Our story and lessons learned may inform rural community-based health coalitions and academicians who are engaged in or considering Community-based participatory research (CBPR) partnerships. Utilizing existing infrastructure and relationships in community and academic settings provides an ideal starting point for rural, bidirectional research partnerships.
Using the Delphi and Snow Card Techniques to Build Consensus Among Diverse Community and Academic Stakeholders
Authors: Rideout Catlin , Gil Rosa , Browne Ruth , Calhoon Claudia , Rey Mariano , Gourevitch Marc , Trinh-Shevrin Chau
Published: September 2013

Background: The New York University– New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (NYU-HHC) Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) used a community-based participatory research (CBPR) and consensus-building approach among its community advisory board (CAB) and steering committee (SC) members to formulate research priorities to foster shared research collaborations.
Methods: The Delphi technique is a methodology used to generate consensus from diverse perspectives and organizational agendas through a multi-method, iterative approach to collecting data. A series of on-line surveys was conducted with CAB members to identify health and research priorities from the community perspective. Subsequently, CAB and SC members were brought together and the snow card approach was utilized to narrow to two priority areas for shared research collaborations.
Results: Cardiovascular disease (CVD)/obesity and mental health were identified as health disparity areas for shared research collaborations within a social determinants framework. In response, two workgroups were formed with leadership provided by three co-chairs representing the three constituents of the NYU-HHC CTSI: NYU faculty, HHC providers, and community leaders
Conclusions: The Delphi approach fostered ownership and engagement with community partners because it was an iterative process that required stakeholders’ input into decision making. The snow card technique allowed for organizing of a large number of discrete ideas. Results have helped to inform the overall CTSI research agenda by defining action steps, and setting an organizing framework to tackle two health disparity areas. The process helped ensure that NYUHHC CTSI research and community engagement strategies are congruent with community priorities.
Time, Dual Roles, and Departments of Public Health: Lessons Learned in CBPR by an AIDS Service Organization
Authors: Cole Christopher A. , Edelman E. Jennifer , Boshnack Nicholas , Jenkins Heidi , Richardson Wanda , Rosenthal Marjorie S.
Published: September 2013

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is an important approach to inform the development and implementation of HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment strategies. However, there is a paucity of literature describing CBPR from the perspective of community-based organizations (CBOs), specifically AIDS service organizations (ASO). Focusing on the perspective of the executive director (ED) from the partnering ASO, we describe in this paper lessons learned during Project Counseling Others About Contacts and Exposures with HIV ( COACH ), a CBPR, qualitative study intended to examine perspectives and experiences of professionals and clients regarding partner notification (PN) for HIV. Specifically, we describe opportunities and challenges associated with the time investment, balancing a dual role of service provider and researcher, and partnering with the department of public health. This description of the perspective of the ED from the ASO and the associated lessons learned may inform the actions of other CBOs, including ASOs, considering partnering with academic institutions for CBPR.
The Development of the Bronx Community Research Review Board: A Pilot Feasibility Project for a Model of Community Consultation
Authors: Martin del Campo Francisco , Casado Joann , Spencer Paulette , Strelnick Hal
Published: September 2013

Background: The Bronx Community Research Review Board (BxCRRB) is a community–academic partnership (CAP) between the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and The Bronx Health Link (BHL). Rather than asking clinical investigators to create their own individual process de novo, we have developed an innovative, structural approach to achieve community consultation in research planning, implementation, and dissemination that involves and educates the public about research.
Objectives: To collaboratively develop (1) an independent research review board of volunteer community residents and repre sentatives that tests a model of community consultation, dialogue, and “community-informed consent” by reviewing community-based research proposals; and (2) to increased understanding of and participation in clinical research in the Bronx.
Methods: (1) Recruiting members from the Health and Human Services committees of community boards, focus groups, and community health events; (2) interviewing and selecting members based on community involvement, experiences, availability, and demographics of the Bronx; (3) training members in bioethics and research methods; and (4) facilitating meetings and discussions between clinical researchers and the BxCRRB for research review and consultation.
Results: There is substantial interest among Bronx residents in participating in the BxCRRB. The BxCRRB provided feedback to researchers to ensure the protection of participants’ rights, to improve research design by promoting increased accountability to the community, and expanded its scope to include earlier stages of the research process.
Conclusion: The BxCRRB is a viable model for community consultation in research, but more time for implementation and evolution is needed to improve its review practices and ensure community input at all stages of the research process.
Creating a Community–Physical Therapy Partnership to Increase Physical Activity in Urban African-American Adults
Authors: Healey William E. , Reed Monique , Huber Gail
Published: September 2013

Background: Racial disparities in health across the United States remain, and in some cities have worsened despite increased focus at federal and local levels. One approach to addressing health inequity is community-based participatory research (CBPR).
Objectives: The purpose of this paper is to describe the develop ment of an ongoing community–physical therapy partnership focused on physical activity (PA), which aims to improve the health of African-American community members and engage physical therapist (PT) students in CBPR.
Methods: Three main research projects that resulted from an initial partnership-building seed grant include (1) community focus groups, (2) training of community PA promoters, and (3) pilot investigation of PA promoter effectiveness.
Lessons Learned: Results from each project informed the next. Focus groups findings led to development of a PA pro moter training curriculum. PA promoters were accepted by the community, with potential to increase PA. Focus on the community issue of PA fostered and sustained the partnership.
Conclusions: Community and academic partners benefitted from funding, structure, and time to create meaningful, trusting, and sustainable relationships committed to improving health. Engaging PT students with community residents provided learning opportunities that promote respect and appreciation of the social, economic, and environmental context of future patients.
“I Know What CBPR Is, Now What Do I Do?”: Community Perspectives on CBPR Capacity Building
Authors: Mason Maryann , Rucker Benjamin , Reed Monique , Morhardt Darby , Healy William , Curry Gina , Kauper-Brown Jen , Dunford Chirstine
Published: September 2013

Background : Community-based participatory research (CBPR) offers a promising approach for combating health disparities. CBPR capacity must be developed among academics and communities. Most published CBPR capacity development work focuses on general guidance or individual partnership development.
Objectives: Herein we have reported community perspectives on community capacity-building efforts involving multiple community partners, including capacity-building outcomes and identification of facilitators and challenges.
Methods: We have presented a case study using qualitative and quantitative data from community-based organization (CBO) members of a committee guiding a university-based CBPR initiative. A survey measuring 11 CBPR capacity domains was fielded at two points. Three rounds of interviews were conducted.
Results: Community CBPR capacity increased over time, although there remains room for improvement. Leader commitment, CBPR resources, and hands-on CBPR experiences were identified as key facilitators. Resource limitations, difficulty integrating CBPR into organizational operations, lack of specific information, and institutional inequities were identified as challenges. Recommendations offered include continued and expanded support for sharing/co-learning with academic partners and capacity-building activities and services.
Conclusions: Results will inform future efforts and contribute to the understanding of capacity-building outcomes for initiatives supporting multiple CBPR partnerships.
Beyond Incentives for Involvement to Compensation for Consultants: Increasing Equity in CBPR Approaches
Authors: Black Kristin Z. , Hardy Christina Yongue , De Marco Molly , Ammerman Alice S. , Corbie-Smith Giselle , Council Barbara , Ellis Danny , Eng Eugenia , Harris Barbara , Jackson Melvin , Jean-Baptiste Jimmy , Kearney William , Legerton Mac , Parker Donald , Wynn Mysha , Lightfoot Alexandra
Published: September 2013

Background: Community-based participatory research (CBPR) strives for equitable collaboration among community and academic partners throughout the research process. To build the capacity of academia to function as effective research partners with communities, the North Carolina Translational and Clinical Sciences Institute (NC TraCS), home of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH)’s Clinical and Translational Sciences Award (CTSA), developed a community engagement consulting model. This new model harnesses the expertise of community partners with CBPR experience and compensates them equitably to provide technical assistance to community–academic research partnerships.
Objectives: This paper describes approaches to valuing community expertise, the importance of equitable compensation for community partners, the impact on the community partners, opportunities for institutional change, and the constraints faced in model implementation.
Methods: Community Experts (CEs) are independent contractor consultants. CEs were interviewed to evaluate their satisfaction with their engagement and compensation for their work.
Lessons Learned: (1) CEs have knowledge, power, and credibility to push for systems change. (2) Changes were needed within the university to facilitate successful consultation to community–academic partnerships. (3) Sustaining the CE role requires staff support, continued compensation, increased opportunities for engagement, and careful consideration of position demands. (4) The role provides benefits beyond financial compensation. (5) Opportunities to gather deepened relationships within the partnership and built collective knowledge that strengthened the project.
Conclusions: Leveraging CE expertise and compensating them for their role benefits both university and community. Creating a place for community expertise within academia is an important step toward equitably including the community in research.
Subversive English in Raining Backwards: A Different Kind of Spanglish
Authors: Alvarez Stephanie
Published: September 2013

This essay explores the relationship(s) between English and Spanish in the novel Raining Backwards (1988) by Cuban American Roberto G. Fernández. While the many linked plots and characters suggest many protagonists, this study demonstrates how language itself takes on the role of protagonist. Through the author’s use of calques and hispanisms, a seemingly English text uncovers the hidden Spanish of the novel. I argue that Fernández, therefore, creates a Spanglish text that, through the use of subversive English, provides a unique way of preserving the transcultural and linguistic memory of Cuban Miami.
Memory and Postmemory in Lidia Falcón’s Play Las mujeres caminaron con el fuego del siglo
Authors: Saeger J’Leen Manning
Published: September 2013

The role of women in Spanish history has gained greater attention in recent years among scholars as well as among creative artists. Particularly as women novelists, dramatists, and directors have increasingly focused on the plight of women under the Franco regime, more female characters have begun to emerge who give voice to women seeking to evoke and understand the past. Spanish author and feminist Lidia Falcón presents two women who speak of various traumatic experiences in their lives in an attempt to interrogate the past and their lack of representation within it in her play Las mujeres caminaron con el fuego del siglo (1994). Ultimately, the play considers Spain’s recent past from a place of trauma in order to recognize displaced female voices.
Un palimpsesto renuente: Reescribiendo a la mujer y el futuro en Nadie me verá llorar de Cristina Rivera Garza
Authors: Lynam Jessica
Published: September 2013

Nadie me verá llorar (1999) de Cristina Rivera Garza, se sitúa durante el apogeo del positivismo porfiriano en México en los albores del siglo XX. Al comienzo del nuevo siglo mexicano se imaginaba el futuro del país como una prometedora página en blanco. Los personajes de Nadie me verá llorar desean reinventarse a la par de su país y dejar su marca sobre esa página. La protagonista Matilda Burgos llega a ser el palimpsesto sobre el que varios de los personajes masculinos de la novela intentan superponer sus proyectos y caracterizaciones, ya sea con el fin de diagnosticarla, el de definirla, o el de enamorarla. A su vez, Matilda se inscribe en el palimpsesto que es la Ciudad de México a finales del siglo XIX y principios del XX. Este artículo examina los diversos intentos de superponer una u otra identidad conveniente sobre Matilda y los deseos de dar una u otra forma al México moderno, arguyendo que el desenlace de la novela sugiere que los dos intentos están destinados al fracaso por querer desentender lo que ya estaba escrito sobre la supuesta página en blanco de la modernidad.
Nosce Te Ipsum : Principios filosóficos en la construcción novelística de Las ilusiones del doctor Faustino y El Comendador Mendoza de Juan Valera
Authors: Sánchez-García Remedios
Published: September 2013

En este artículo se presenta un análisis de la función esencial que tienen las distintas escuelas filosóficas en la construcción de las novelas Las ilusiones del doctor Faustino y El comendador Mendoza del escritor decimonónico Juan Valera (1824–1905). Valera, estudioso de la filosofía y muy marcado por la tradición clásica de pensamiento (e.g., Platón, Aristóteles), aunque también influido por su tiempo, deja patente en sus obras su pretensión de armonizar distintos aspectos de diferentes escuelas filosóficas. Este planteamiento heterogéneo le lleva a construirse una teoría metafísica propia, producto de muchos años de aprendizaje y meditación, que tiene un papel esencial en la construcción de la trama de sus novelas.
Los “estudios chinos” de José Juan Tablada: Revelación y revaluación
Authors: Pascucci Michele M.
Published: September 2013

Aunque el mexicano José Juan Tablada (1871–1945) es conocido principalmente por su poesía modernista y su haiku en español, también produjo en su época vanguardista una colección, breve pero significativa, de poemas visuales. En 1919, en un intento de defender la originalidad de su poesía ideográfica frente a las comparaciones con los caligramas de Guillaume Apollinaire, Tablada señaló unos singulares “estudios chinos” como elemento decisivo para su propia inspiración. Sin embargo, no especificó en qué consistían tales estudios, si se basaban en la experiencia personal, en la lectura directa de textos chinos, o en las descripciones e interpretaciones hechas por otros orientalistas. Durante mucho tiempo la crítica ha especulado sobre la alusión, pero hasta ahora no se ha encontrado ninguna fuente que coincida con los detalles, escasos pero concretos, que Tablada puntualiza acerca del contenido de sus estudios sínicos. Mis propias investigaciones me han llevado a determinar que, en realidad, la inspiración china de Tablada en este caso se deriva de su lectura de un libro de Paul-Louis Couchoud. De ser así, se plantea una reexaminación de la figura de Tablada como orientalista, como también una revaluación de la relación entre su haiku y su poesía ideográfica.
The Role of Gender, Embedded Questions, and Domain Specific Readings with Learners of Spanish
Authors: Brantmeier Cindy , Callender Aimee , McDaniel Mark
Published: September 2013

The present study utilizes readings taken from texts in social psychology to examine the effects by gender of embedded “what” questions and elaborative “why” questions on reading comprehension. During regular class time, 97 advanced second language (L2) learners of Spanish read two different vignettes, either with or without the adjuncts, and then completed a written recall, multiple choice items, and a topic familiarity inventory. Results revealed significant effects of gender and question type for wriftten recall with passage one, which was about first impressions and schemas. Females outscored males with the inserted “why” questions and males outscored females with the inserted “what” questions. No significant effects by gender and embedded questions were found with recall for passage two, concerning implicit personality theory and attribution theory. Additionally, no gender differences were found for the interaction of gender and embedded question type for multiple choice items across both passages. Results are discussed in light of previous research that reports females outperform males on recall tasks for L2 reading. Instructional implications along with suggestions for more research of this nature are offered.
Criollismo femenino y mestizaje en Mah Rap de Malín D’Echevers
Authors: García Claudia
Published: September 2013

Este ensayo propone una lectura de Mah Rap (1946) de la guatemalteca Malín D’Echevers, que articula la novela con la teosofía, el regeneracionismo y el feminismo moderado de la época, mostrando cómo la autora constituye una versión femenina del criollismo. A partir del cruce de este género con elementos de la novela sentimental y la histórica, y recurriendo a elementos autobiográficos que determinan una cercanía personal o familiar con el material histórico así como una simpatía interior con el mundo indígena plasmados en la novela, D’Echevers se desvía de los tópicos del criollismo masculino e inscribe la progresiva incursión femenina en el espacio público a través de la participación política y la educación igualitaria. Paralelamente, D’Echevers presenta una figura mestiza aliada con las élites progresistas que posibilita el proceso regenerativo al eliminar los elementos corruptos de la clase dominante. Pese a sus planteamientos progresistas, en la novela se exponen las contradicciones ideológicas de la élite modernizadora con la que D’Echevers se mantiene alineada: el feminismo de clase alta y sometido al orden patriarcal; la visión subordinada de los indígenas que aparecen solo como servidores; y el servilismo complaciente del mestizo, cuyo crimen es condonado.
Syntactic Development in the L1 of Spanish-English Bilingual Children
Authors: Austin Jennifer , Blume María , Sánchez Liliana
Published: September 2013

In this exploratory study of subtractive bilingualism in Spanish-English bilingual children, we present evidence that crosslinguistic influence has a selective effect on heritage first language loss. Differences in feature strength between English and Spanish in interrogative and negative polarity item (NPI) sentences seem to affect the development of these structures in Spanish more than that of negative sentences. While the children in this study exhibit instability in the production of target-like sentences involving weak features in functional categories (interrogative sentences and NPI sentences) in Spanish, their heritage language, we did not find strong evidence of convergence of their L1 towards the strong feature specification of the corresponding functional categories in English, the socially dominant L2. The results indicate that the heritage language of these bilingual children is affected by cross-linguistic influence from English, which is sensitive to feature strength. In contrast, their second language shows strong development.
Jesuit Neo-Scholasticism and Criollo Consciousness in Sor Juana’s El mártir del sacramento, San Hermenegildo
Authors: Patterson Charles
Published: September 2013

Much of the limited scholarship dedicated to Sor Juana’s autos sacramentales tends to separate them from the loas that were meant to introduce them. Critics often exalt the loas for the sympathy that they express for indigenous beliefs, while neglecting the autos or viewing them as masterful imitations of Calderón’s style. This analysis breaks with this trend by demonstrating the thematic unity between the auto titled El mártir del sacramento, San Hermenigildo and the loa that precedes it. Reading the two works in the light of Jesuit Neo-Scholasticism and its influence on the development of criollo consciousness, the article argues that both loa and auto contribute to a subversive criollo discourse that questions Spain’s hegemony and carves a space for Sor Juana’s own intellectual activities.
El español en Estados Unidos a la luz del censo de 2010: Los retos de las próximas décadas
Authors: Dumitrescu Domnita
Published: September 2013

Este artículo analiza los datos del censo de 2010 acerca de la población hispana de los Estados Unidos (los hispanounidenses) y determina que la expansión de la inmigración a nuevos estados (no tradicionales), combinada con la alta tasa de natalidad de este sector de la población y el fenómeno creciente de los matrimonios de etnicidad mixta, plantea nuevos retos ante los estudiosos del idioma y los educadores de los hispanos de segunda y tercera generación. Estos retos implican, por un lado, determinar las consecuencias lingüísticas del contacto dialectal que se produce tanto en las grandes ciudades como al nivel de las familias cuyos padres son hablantes de diferentes variedades de español. Por otro lado, el aumento de los estudiantes de herencia de segunda y tercera generación, muchos de los cuales son bilingües transicionales, requieren una reevaluación de los métodos de enseñanza del español como lengua de herencia y una mejor comprensión de las estrategias didácticas que pueden fomentar el mantenimiento de la lengua a nivel intergeneracional.
An Undignified Side of Death with Dignity Legislation
Authors: Plaisted Dennis
Published: September 2013

The primary justification for Death with Dignity legislation has been the principle of respect for autonomy. However, some have objected that if respect for autonomy is the reason for allowing physician-assisted suicide, then why not allow it for people with longer than six months to live? Defenders of the laws have responded that respect for autonomy must be balanced against the state’s interest in the lives of its citizens. Persons with less than six months remaining have virtually no life left to protect; persons with more time have a meaningfully long segment of life remaining. The state can therefore overrule their autonomy interests to preserve their lives. This paper will argue that this response constitutes an ironic affront to the dignity of people with less than six months to live, for it implies that their lives are not worth enough for the state to prevent them from committing physician-assisted suicide.
The Affordable Care Act and Community Benefit: A Mandate Catholic Health Care Can (Partly) Embrace
Authors: McCruden Patrick
Published: September 2013

The 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires not-for-profit hospitals, including Catholic hospitals, to engage in meaningful community assessment and collaboration efforts in order to maintain their tax-exempt status. Now that the ACA has been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, this paper argues that the requirements related to a more robust community engagement process should be embraced by Catholic not-for-profit hospitals and health systems. Apart from the legal requirements under ACA, an equally persuasive moral mandate to engage in community-level assessment and action exists in the ethical tradition of Catholic health care, particularly in the notions of the common good, preferential option for the poor, and subsidiarity. This paper examines the compelling nature of these moral norms in light of the dual goals of improving overall community health and reducing health disparities among vulnerable populations. It concludes with the examination of one model of community collaboration: Mobilizing for Action through Planning and Partnerships (MAPP).
Physicians’ Strikes and the Competing Bases of Physicians’ Moral Obligations
Authors: MacDougall D. Robert
Published: September 2013

Many authors have addressed the morality of physicians’ strikes on the assumption that medical practice is morally different from other kinds of occupations. This article analyzes three prominent theoretical accounts that attempt to ground such special moral obligations for physicians—practice-based accounts, utilitarian accounts, and social contract accounts—and assesses their applicability to the problem of the morality of strikes. After critiquing these views, it offers a fourth view grounding special moral obligations in voluntary commitments, and explains why this is a preferable basis for understanding physicians’ moral obligations in general and especially as pertaining to strikes.
Moral Status, Justice, and the Common Morality: Challenges for the Principlist Account of Moral Change
Authors: Hodges Kevin E. , Sulmasy Daniel P.
Published: September 2013

The theory of principlism elaborated by Beauchamp and Childress in Principles of Biomedical Ethics has become extremely influential in bioethics. The theory employs the idea of the common morality as a foundation for the principles of autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice. According to this account, the content of the common morality is universal and constant, while variability in morals is due to the fact that the issue of who is included within the scope of moral status evolves over time. This suggests that issues of moral status are not part of the common morality at all, and this presents a conundrum: questions of moral status seem central to any substantive account of justice, and any conception of the common morality that excludes moral status therefore seems inadequate for supporting a robust principle of justice. We argue that proponents of common morality theory are left with four options: (1) making moral status a part of the objective common morality and ignoring evidence that views about moral status do seem to vary over time and place; (2) excluding justice from the substantive content of the common morality; (3) taking common morality to be an imperfect approximation of an independently justified and universal foundationalist ethic against which the common morality is judged; or (4) weakening claims about the universality of common morality, thereby allowing the common morality to support a variety of principles of justice applicable only within particular communities that have specified the scope of moral status. We suspect that proponents of common morality theory will not view any of these options favorably, which raises questions about the ultimate contribution of that account.
Childhood in Ukrainian Media: Discursive Study of Ukrainian and Russian Language Magazines
Authors: Nedashkivska Alla
Published: September 2013

This study is an inquiry into popular children’s magazines produced in Ukraine. The focus is on the construction of childhood in texts via both verbal and visual elements. The Critical Discourse Analysis framework is the principle theoretical and methodological tool used for the study of media language and addressing questions of social significance. The visual analysis rests on premises of the social semiotic framework by Kress and van Leeuwen (1996) and Machin and van Leeuwen (2007). Linguistic analysis considers address and reference forms, focusing on the distribution and meaning of these forms in the three magazines studied. Both verbal and visual analyses devote special attention to “individualization” or “collectivization” elements of text, which contribute to the presentations of identities of both the magazine and its readers. The results are linked to a discussion of cultural practices and social changes in contemporary Ukrainian society.
Inventing America on the Borders of Socialist Imagination: Movies and Music from the USA and the Origins of American Studies in the USSR
Authors: Zhuk Sergei I.
Published: September 2013

This essay explores how products of American culture, such as movies, literature, and music during the 1940s and 1950s not only triggered interest in American history and culture but also contributed to the academic careers of Lev Zubok, Aleksei Efimov, and their students, such as Nikolai Bolkhovitinov.
Denationalizing Treachery: The Ukrainian Insurgent Army and the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists in Late Soviet Discourse, 1945–85
Authors: Erlacher Trevor
Published: September 2013

The time and place of the postwar struggle of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) and the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) against the Soviet regime in West Ukraine contradicted two foundational myths of late Soviet society: (1) the myth of the Great Patriotic War, and (2) the myth of
the Friendship of the Peoples. This article examines how Soviet-Russian mass media dealt with these contradictions in the decades leading up to perestroika. The Soviet state attempted to excise the OUN/UPA’s postwar activities from collective memory through omission until the late 1970s, when it launched a propaganda campaign to expose and demonize the OUN/UPA. The new political circumstances of the “Second Cold War” account for the timing of this campaign, but the well-worn language and arguments it employed reflected the stagnation of the Party’s postwar ideology, which posited the unity and incorruptibility of the “new historical community of the
Soviet people,” and accordingly denationalized the OUN/UPA’s “treachery.”
Sub-National Variation of Corruption in Russia: What Do We Know About It?
Authors: Libman Alexander , Kozlov Vladimir
Published: September 2013

While corruption is generally accepted as a major problem for Russia, there exists a large variation of the level and forms of corruption across sub-national regions in the Russian Federation. Multiple quantitative measures of sub-national corruption levels in Russia in the last decade exist based on different methodologies and provided by different sources. While some of these measures have been actively used in academic research, others have received less scholarly attention. The aim of this paper is to provide a critical review of the available corruption indicators for the Russian regions, discussing their advantages and disadvantages and comparing the pictures of corruption different datasets provide for various regions of Russia.
Actually Existing Internet Use in the Russian Margins: Net Utopianism in the Shadow of the “Silent Majorities”
Authors: Morris Jeremy
Published: September 2013

The article presents empirical data on Internet and social media use in a Russian regional and urban space. Ethnographic methods provide a picture of ordinary users and their online habits. Data was gathered “online” and using traditional participant observation of informants, constituting a “connective ethnography.” The empirical findings highlight a degree of “circumspection” by ordinary users in terms of the social networking potential of VKontakte, the main social networking site (SNS) popular in Russia. The SNS use is characterized by limited acknowledgement of social others in contrast to extended communication typical of Facebook. In addition, the article discusses at length the problems with scholarship that seeks to highlight the civic potential of new media in less democratic societies, such as Russia. The complexity of imputing civic or politicized use of the SNS is highlighted by informants’ observed use.
Speaking for Those “Backward”: Gender and Ethnic Minorities in Soviet Silent Films
Authors: Gradskova Yulia
Published: September 2013

The article is dedicated to the study of the cinematographic representations of two early Soviet emancipation projects: the emancipation of women and the emancipation of national minorities. In what ways did these two emancipation projects intersect? How were women of the “dominated” nations addressed and treated in the post-revolutionary years? In order to answer these questions I analyze three newsreels and six thematic films connected to the mentioned topics and produced between the mid-1920s and 1931. Films dealing with the “emancipation” of women not infrequently showed women from different regions, but, in addition to this intra-Soviet perspective on an all-Soviet dimension, I focus on several films dealing with the Volga-Ural region in particular. Soviet films from 1920 to the early 1930s give us more complex and multilateral information about both “emancipations” than do other Soviet documents. At the same time, they show that racialized images of “other” women were frequently used by Soviet filmmakers in order to emphasize the progress of the Soviet modernizing project.
On ratios of Petersson norms for Yoshida lifts
Authors: Saha Abhishek
Published: September 2013

We prove an algebraicity property for a certain ratio of Petersson norms associated to a Siegel cusp form of degree 2 (and arbitrary level) whose adelization generates a weak endoscopic lift. As a preparation for this, we explicate various features of the correspondence between scalar valued Siegel cusp forms of degree n and automorphic representations on

GSp

2
n

${{\rm GSp}_{2n}}$

.
Derivational processes in the discourse of international relations. The case of press articles on international politics
Authors: Twardzisz, Piotr
Published: September 2013

In this article, two areas of scholarship have been combined, namely journalistic English and international relations. More precisely, current word-formation tendencies in press articles have been analysed against a background of events on the international arena. First, the language of Newsweek�s press articles on international affairs has been searched for derivations (affixed formations) with names of all 192 UN member states. The five most productive affixes involved are: the prefixes un- and anti- and the suffixes -ize, -(iz)ation and -ness. The results obtained demonstrate vast quantitative disproportions between particular names with these affixes. Secondly, arguments from the area of international relations have been brought in and displayed alongside the linguistic statistics. The results of the quantitative and qualitative linguistic analysis are claimed to have a strong political motivation. �Pure� linguistic findings, such as high numbers of certain derivations only, can be linked with negative attitudes toward a particular state described in the political literature. Current derivational trends in English for international relations are intrinsically related to events that unfold and situations that obtain on the international scene. In conclusion, semantic consequences of the linguistic phenomena in question are also predicted.
Size Does Not Always Matter: Ts65Dn Down Syndrome Mice Show Cerebellum-Dependent Motor Learning Deficits that Cannot Be Rescued by Postnatal SAG Treatment
Authors: Gutierrez-Castellanos Nicolas , Winkelman Beerend H.J. , Tolosa-Rodriguez Leonardo , Devenney Benjamin , Reeves Roger H. , De Zeeuw Chris I.
Published: September 2013

Humans with Down syndrome (DS) and Ts65Dn mice both show a reduced volume of the cerebellum due to a significant reduction in the density of granule neurons. Recently, cerebellar hypoplasia in Ts65Dn mice was rescued by a single treatment with SAG, an agonist of the Sonic hedgehog pathway, administered on the day of birth. In addition to normalizing cerebellar morphology, this treatment restored the ability to learn a spatial navigation task, which is associated with hippocampal function. It is not clear to what extent this improved performance results from restoration of the cerebellar architecture or a yet undefined role of Sonic hedgehog (Shh) in perinatal hippocampal development. The absence of a clearly demonstrated deficit in cerebellar function in trisomic mice exacerbates the problem of discerning how SAG acts to improve learning and memory. Here we show that phase reversal adaptation and consolidation of the vestibulo-ocular reflex is significantly impaired in Ts65Dn mice, providing for the first time a precise characterization of cerebellar functional deficits in this murine model of DS. However, these deficits do not benefit from the normalization of cerebellar morphology following treatment with SAG. Together with the previous observation that the synaptic properties of Purkinje cells are also unchanged by SAG treatment, this lack of improvement in a region-specific behavioral assay supports the possibility that a direct effect of Shh pathway stimulation on the hippocampus might explain the benefits of this potential approach to the improvement of cognition in DS.
Activation of Presynaptic GABAB(1a,2)Receptors Inhibits Synaptic Transmission at Mammalian Inhibitory Cholinergic Olivocochlear–Hair Cell Synapses
Authors: Wedemeyer Carolina , Zorrilla de San Martín Javier , Ballestero Jimena , Gómez-Casati María Eugenia , Torbidoni Ana Vanesa , Fuchs Paul A. , Bettler Bernhard , Elgoyhen Ana Belén , Katz Eleonora
Published: September 2013

The synapse between olivocochlear (OC) neurons and cochlear mechanosensory hair cells is cholinergic, fast, and inhibitory. The inhibitory sign of this cholinergic synapse is accounted for by the activation of Ca2+-permeable postsynaptic α9α10 nicotinic receptors coupled to the opening of hyperpolarizing Ca2+-activated small-conductance type 2 (SK2)K+channels. Acetylcholine (ACh) release at this synapse is supported by both P/Q- and N-type voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs). Although the OC synapse is cholinergic, an abundant OC GABA innervation is present along the mammalian cochlea. The role of this neurotransmitter at the OC efferent innervation, however, is for the most part unknown. We show that GABA fails to evoke fast postsynaptic inhibitory currents in apical developing inner and outer hair cells. However, electrical stimulation of OC efferent fibers activates presynaptic GABAB(1a,2)receptors [GABAB(1a,2)Rs] that downregulate the amount of ACh released at the OC–hair cell synapse, by inhibiting P/Q-type VGCCs. We confirmed the expression of GABABRs at OC terminals contacting the hair cells by coimmunostaining for GFP and synaptophysin in transgenic mice expressing GABAB1–GFP fusion proteins. Moreover, coimmunostaining with antibodies against the GABA synthetic enzyme glutamic acid decarboxylase and synaptophysin support the idea that GABA is directly synthesized at OC terminals contacting the hair cells during development. Thus, we demonstrate for the first time a physiological role for GABA in cochlear synaptic function. In addition, our data suggest that the GABAB1aisoform selectively inhibits release at efferent cholinergic synapses.
When should DVT be suspected in children with osteomyelitis?
Authors: Altobelli Mary G. , Quinonez Ricardo A.
Published: September 2013

Background:

There is increasing recognition that deep venous thrombosis (DVT) is a complicating factor in some children with acute hematogenous osteomyelitis. The similarity in signs and symptoms of osteomyelitis and DVT make clinical recognition of this complicating condition difficult. It would be helpful to the clinician to identify by other means which children with osteomyelitis are at greatest risk for DVT. We reviewed the available literature regarding osteomyelitis and DVT in children to identify potential characteristics of children with osteomyelitis that puts them at risk for concurrent DVT.

Methods:

We performed searches of the PubMed, Cochrane, CINAHL, and National Guideline Clearinghouse databases on the topic of osteomyelitis and thrombosis in children 0 to 18 years of age from 2001 to the present.

Results:

Four studies were included: 3 retrospective and 1 prospective. Studies varied in terms of clinical, laboratory, and imaging parameters evaluated. Overall they suggest trends toward increased incidence of DVT in children who were critically ill at presentation, had positive blood cultures, were infected with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, had an elevated C-reactive protein, and had central venous catheters placed.

Conclusions:

Strong consideration should be given to evaluating children with osteomyelitis for DVT if they are critically ill at presentation, particularly if they have pulmonary findings, are persistently bacteremic, especially with methicillin-resistant S aureus.
Decreasing Patient Identification Band Errors by Standardizing Processes
Authors: Walley Susan Chu , Berger Stephanie , Harris Yolanda , Gallizzi Gina , Hayes Leslie
Published: September 2013

Objective:

Patient identification (ID) bands are an essential component in patient ID. Quality improvement methodology has been applied as a model to reduce ID band errors although previous studies have not addressed standardization of ID bands. Our specific aim was to decrease ID band errors by 50% in a 12-month period.

Methods:

The Six Sigma DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve, and control) quality improvement model was the framework for this study. ID bands at a tertiary care pediatric hospital were audited from January 2011 to January 2012 with continued audits to June 2012 to confirm the new process was in control. After analysis, the major improvement strategy implemented was standardization of styles of ID bands and labels. Additional interventions included educational initiatives regarding the new ID band processes and disseminating institutional and nursing unit data.

Results:

A total of 4556 ID bands were audited with a preimprovement ID band error average rate of 9.2%. Significant variation in the ID band process was observed, including styles of ID bands. Interventions were focused on standardization of the ID band and labels. The ID band error rate improved to 5.2% in 9 months (95% confidence interval: 2.5–5.5; P < .001) and was maintained for 8 months.

Conclusions:

Standardization of ID bands and labels in conjunction with other interventions resulted in a statistical decrease in ID band error rates. This decrease in ID band error rates was maintained over the subsequent 8 months.