bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Health geography III
Authors: Rosenberg Mark
Published: September 2016

This report is organized around a set of topics that have dominated much of the recent literature in health geography: the importance of neighbourhoods, green spaces/blue spaces, density, walkability, and vulnerable populations. These topics are discussed in terms of the need to shift to new ideas and to avoid creating new determinisms in health geography. A second critical argument to the report is that health geographers also need to focus more of their efforts on those who are truly in need and have the fewest resources to effect change to their health and their lives.
Financialization or capitalization? Debating capitalist power in South Korea in the context of neoliberal globalization
Authors: Park Hyeng-joon , Doucette Jamie
Published: September 2016

The article reviews debates concerning financialization in South Korea, with a focus on ongoing arguments between liberal, post-Keynesian, institutionalist and Marxist economists. It argues that post-Keynesian and institutionalist perspectives in particular neglect important class processes through which the financial circuit operates within the Korean economy, especially the power of Korea’s large, family-led conglomerates, or chaebol. In order to build upon Marxist approaches to Korean finance, we argue that Nitzen and Bichler’s approach to the ‘capitalization’ of capitalist class power provides a useful heuristic for understanding the differential power of Korean chaebol and their integration into global capital.
Leadership in disruptive times
Authors: Matarazzo James M. , Pearlstein Toby
Published: September 2016

These are times of economic disruption globally, nationally, regionally, and locally. This ongoing turbulence will inevitably have an impact on your library regardless of the type of organization you support. The consequences of ongoing economic instability are exacerbated by what seems to be an extraordinary turnover in library leadership. This turnover requires a steady supply of new leaders to fill the shoes of those who retire or for other reasons leave their positions. Today our profession is confronted with the question of whether or not we will have enough new leaders or existing managers stepping up to leadership roles to drive the sustainability of information services? This question will be addressed through examination of four domains where the need for existing and aspiring leaders in the information profession is critical, regardless of the type of library: finance, fundraising, organizational politics, and evaluation. Equally important is understanding the role of the leader (as opposed to that of the manager) as the strategic thinker, visionary, and motivator, who inspires their team to excellence in these four areas and through demonstrating contribution to the organization’s success, achieves sustainability. Using case studies as well as insights from past research and from colleagues around the world in different kinds of libraries, we will be looking at why these four domains are important to sustainability and what you as a leader needs to do in thinking through how to adapt them to the specific needs of your organization.
Generation and management of scholarly content in Nigerian universities
Authors: Abbas Kabiru Dahiru
Published: September 2016

The paper aims to investigate the generation and management of scholarly content at universities in Nigeria using quantitative and qualitative approaches with a total of 120 academic staff from the three universities randomly selected for the study. The study found that the majority of the academic departments had no academic journals, while the academics generated just two out of 12 scholarly contents in their scholarly activities. It was discovered that neither the universities nor the academic departments had digital archives for the effective preservation and management of scholarly content. The study revealed the challenges of scholarly content generation and management to include the absence of institutional repositories and reliable institutional websites owing to poor infrastructure. The contribution of this paper is that it investigated the generation and management of scholarly content at universities in Kano State, Nigeria, and no such study exists in the literature.
A review of theory-driven models of trust in the online health context
Authors: Khosrowjerdi Mahmood
Published: September 2016

Generally speaking, theory-driven studies are more successful in producing a desired result than those missing the theoretical grounds. This paper aims to provide an informal assessment of theoretical foundations of trust models in online health context. After a review of literature, 12 theory-driven models were analysed in detail. The findings showed that previous models benefited from different theories within different disciplines (mostly from psychology). The technology acceptance model, the elaboration likelihood model, the theory of reasoned action and the health belief model were the most frequently used theoretical frameworks. The reviewed models were able to account for 23–69% of variance in dependent variables. In conclusion, although the health studies are very open to interdisciplinary theories, the inclusion of institutional and national cultural theories in future researches may enrich the current individualistic perspective with a broader context of society that jointly form trust behaviour and credibility judgements of health consumers in digital health environments.
What makes academic librarians organizationally silent?
Authors: Mokhtari Heidar
Published: September 2016

Academic librarians’ organizational silence has a bad effect on the service provision in academic libraries. This study aimed to investigate the status of organizational silence among academic librarians and the factors that influence it as perceived by them. Using the convenience sampling method, 118 academic librarians in the academic libraries of northern Iran were selected. They completed a questionnaire called “Academic Librarians’ Organizational Silence Scale”. The collected data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistic methods. Positively affecting academic librarians’ organizational silence behavior, library managements’ attitude to silence was the strongest predictor of the librarians’ organizational silence. Negatively affecting their organizational silence behavior, the existence of communication opportunities in the library was another predictor. The consideration of organizational silence and weakening its influence among academic librarians is the motivator for their appropriate service provision. This exploratory research is the first step in the deep study of this construct in libraries and among librarians. This study has some implications for theory and practice in the Library Science field. In the former, it extends evidence in the literature aimed at library human resource management. In the latter, it informs library management of factors at work in librarians’ organizational silence. Despite its limitations as to the study sample and geographically limited scope of libraries studied, this exploratory study can motivate researchers to consider librarians’ organizational silence in different types of library.
Evaluation of Standardized Instruments for Use in Universal Screening of Very Early School-Age Children: Suitability, Technical Adequacy, and Usability
Authors: Miles Sandra , Fulbrook Paul , Mainwaring-Mägi Debra
Published: September 2016

Universal screening of very early school-age children (age 4-7 years) is important for early identification of learning problems that may require enhanced learning opportunity. In this context, use of standardized instruments is critical to obtain valid, reliable, and comparable assessment outcomes. A wide variety of standardized instruments is available for screening and assessment purposes, though previous reviews have revealed some technical inadequacies. Suitability and usability of instruments should be considered as well as technical adequacy, making instrument selection a challenge for education professionals. This review used a systematic search to identify 48 instruments that measured development and early academic skills in very early school-age children. Instruments were evaluated and mapped against established psychometric and usability criteria, and rated as good, adequate, or not adequate. The results provide education professionals with a guide to selection of standardized instruments suitable for this age group and assessment purpose.
Investigating Patterns of Errors for Specific Comprehension and Fluency Difficulties
Authors: Koriakin Taylor A. , Kaufman Alan S.
Published: September 2016

Although word reading has traditionally been viewed as a foundational skill for development of reading fluency and comprehension, some children demonstrate “specific” reading comprehension problems, in the context of intact word reading. The purpose of this study was to identify specific patterns of errors associated with reading profiles—basic reading difficulties (BRD), reading fluency difficulties (RFD), reading comprehension difficulties (RCD), and typical readers (total n = 821). Results indicated significant differences between the groups on most error factors. Post hoc analyses indicated there were no significant differences between the RFD and RCD groups, but these groups demonstrated different patterns of significant weakness relative to typical readers. The RFD group was weaker in spelling and oral expression whereas the RCD group demonstrated difficulties in writing mechanics and listening comprehension. These findings indicate that comprehension deficits cannot be attributed only to fluency difficulties and that specific reading difficulties may translate to other aspects of achievement.
Effects of a Summarizing Strategy on Written Summaries of Children With Emotional and Behavioral Disorders
Authors: Saddler Bruce , Asaro-Saddler Kristie , Moeyaert Mariola , Ellis-Robinson Tammy
Published: September 2016

In this single-subject study, we examined the effects of a summarizing strategy on the written summaries of children with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBDs). Six students with EBDs in fifth and sixth grades learned a mnemonic-based strategy for summarizing taught through the self-regulated strategy development (SRSD) approach. Visual analyses were conducted, along with estimated effect sizes using quantitative methods at both the individual level and across cases. Visual analyses revealed evidence for a functional relation between the treatment program and quality points. Quantitatively, very large effects were noted for all six students. Anecdotal evidence suggested the students understood the purpose of the strategy and could independently recall the steps of the mnemonic by the end of the intervention. Results suggest that the strategy has the potential to improve the summary writing skills of students with EBDs. Limitations and future directions are discussed.
Energy conscious cryogenic machining of Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy
Authors: Shokrani Alborz , Dhokia Vimal , Newman Stephen T
Published: September 2016

Manufacturing and, in particular, machining are responsible for a significant portion of global industrial energy consumption (25%). Previous research has shown that precise selection of cutting parameters can improve the energy consumption of machining processes. Cryogenic machining has attracted significant attention for improving the machinability of difficult-to-machine materials while also eliminating the environmental and health issues associated with the use of cutting fluids. Despite the advantages, there is a considerable research gap in cryogenic milling operations. This article investigates the effect of cryogenic cooling using liquid nitrogen in end milling of Ti-6Al-4V. A robust and rigorous methodology was developed and a series of machining experiments were conducted using a combination of cutting parameters repeated at dry, flood and cryogenic cooling environments. The investigations indicated that cryogenic cooling considerably reduce tool wear when compared to dry and flood cooling while allowing for using higher cutting speeds. The cutting tool used for cryogenic machining at 200 m/min cutting speed, 0.03 mm/tooth feed rate and 5 mm depth of cut showed minimum flank wear. Furthermore, the investigations demonstrated that using the machine’s coolant pump in flood cooling resulted in higher power and energy consumption than dry and cryogenic cooling. This article clearly shows that higher material removal rates are required in order to minimise specific machining energy. Therefore, since cutting speed is limited in dry machining, cryogenic machining is the most favourable as higher cutting speeds can be used. Using cryogenic machining at 200 m/min cutting speed resulted in an 88% reduction in energy consumption of the machine tool as compared to flood cooling at 30 m/min while minimum tool wear (10 µm) was detected. This clearly demonstrates the significant capabilities of cryogenic machining when compared with more conventional machining approaches.
Bifurcation and stability analysis for 3SPS+1PS parallel hip joint manipulator based on unified theory
Authors: Wang Songtao , Cheng Gang , Yang Jianhua , Chen Xihui
Published: September 2016

For a parallel hip joint manipulator, the unified kinematics and stiffness model are established based on a novel unified theory, and then the bifurcation and stability are analyzed under the same unified theory framework. In bifurcation analysis, a chaos method is first applied to solve the non-linear bifurcation equations in order to get the full configuration of the parallel hip joint manipulator, which improves the convergence rate and accuracy. Based on the full-configuration solution, the single-parameter and double-parameter simulation for the bifurcation and stability of the parallel hip joint manipulator is performed. The bifurcation simulation results show that the configuration only changes along the corresponding path but cannot change to other paths when the configuration of the parallel hip joint manipulator is at a certain path. The stability simulation results show that when the parallel hip joint manipulator enters into an uncontrolled domain of a bifurcation posture along different paths, the posture component which changes dramatically will lose control first, and the other posture components will move along the changed configuration. In this paper, the kinematics, stiffness, bifurcation and stability of the parallel hip joint manipulator are solved under the same theory framework, which improves the solving efficiency and enriches the mechanical theory for the parallel manipulators.
Effect of aging on hardness in the upsetting tests using experimental and finite element investigations
Authors: Hari Krishna Ch , Davidson MJ , Nagaraju Ch
Published: September 2016

This paper investigates the hardness distribution in cold upsetting operation of the aged billets. Three sets of cylindrical billets were solutionized at 504 ℃ and then each set of billets were aged at 150 ℃ for a period of 9 h, 13 h, and 18 h, respectively. The billets were upset to different levels of strain and flow stress equation was evaluated for all the aging conditions. The flow stress equation was given as input to the finite element software and simulated to the same level of strain as in the case of experiments. An attempt to predict metal hardness was made by correlating the equivalent strain with the hardness. The hardness measurements predicted were in good agreement with the experimental results. The demand for producing billets with more hardness on the surface and softness inside encourages this investigation to measure hardness experimentally and theoretically.
Your Understanding Is My Understanding
Authors: Sloman Steven A. , Rabb Nathaniel
Published: September 2016

In four experiments, we tested the community-of-knowledge hypothesis, that people fail to distinguish their own knowledge from other people’s knowledge. In all the experiments, despite the absence of any actual explanatory information, people rated their own understanding of novel natural phenomena as higher when they were told that scientists understood the phenomena than when they were told that scientists did not yet understand them. In Experiment 2, we found that this occurs only when people have ostensible access to the scientists’ explanations; the effect does not occur when the explanations exist but are held in secret. In Experiment 3, we further ruled out two classes of alternative explanations (one appealing to task demands and the other proposing that judgments were mediated by inferences about a phenomenon’s understandability). In Experiment 4, we ruled out the possibility that the effect could be attributed to a pragmatic inference.
Time does not fly but slow down in old age
Authors: Droit-Volet Sylvie
Published: September 2016

This study examined whether the acceleration of the passage of time as people get older increases after 75 years of age. Individuals older and younger than 75 years, living either at home or in an institution, were asked to provide retrospective judgments of the passage of long periods of time, as well as judgments of the current passage of time using the Experience Sampling Methodology, in which a series of alerts are delivered everyday by mobile phone. The results showed that the retrospective judgment of the passage of time did not change with age. However, the older participants living in a retirement home, who were more negatively focused on their past, disagreed with the idea that time passes faster with increasing age. By contrast, the judgment of the current passage of time changed after 75 years. However, the perception was not one of acceleration but of slowing down. The best predictors of this slowing down of time were the negative affects, namely sadness, which were particularly high among the participants living in a retirement home. However, as their cognitive functions declined, they perceived time as passing quickly again, and this was accompanied by a greater feeling of happiness.
Micromechanical framework for saturated concrete repaired by the electrochemical deposition method with interfacial transition zone effects
Authors: Chen Qing , Jiang Zhengwu , Zhu Hehua , Ju J Woody , Yan Zhiguo
Published: September 2016

An improved micromechanical framework with interfacial transition zone (ITZ) effects is proposed for saturated concrete repaired by electrochemical deposition method (EDM) based on our recent studies. A multiphase micromechanical model with ITZs is proposed based on the material microstructure and a new multilevel homogenization scheme with inter-particle interactions is employed to predict the effective properties of repaired concrete considering the ITZ effects. The equivalent particle, composed by the water, deposition product and ITZ, is obtained by modifying the generalized self-consistent model. The mechanical properties of the healed concrete are calculated by micromechanical homogenization considering the inter-particle interactions. Moreover, modification procedures considering the ITZ effects are presented to attain the properties of repaired concrete in the dry state. To demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed micromechanical model, predictions in this study are compared with those of the existing models and the experimental data. Finally, the influences of ITZ on the equivalent particle and repaired concrete are discussed based on the proposed micromechanical framework.
Combined DOG1 and Mammaglobin Immunohistochemistry Is Comparable to ETV6-breakapart Analysis for Differentiating Between Papillary Cystic Variants of Acinic Cell Carcinoma and Mammary Analogue Secretory Carcinoma
Authors: Said-Al-Naief Nasser , Carlos Roman , Vance Gail H. , Miller Caroline , Edwards Paul C.
Published: September 2016

Background. We investigated the reliability of combined DOG1 and mammaglobin immunohistochemistry compared with ETV6 fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) in the assessment of salivary tumors previously diagnosed as acinic cell carcinoma (ACC). Ultrastructural features of cases reclassified as mammary analogue secretory carcinoma (MASC) were assessed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Methods. Immunohistochemical (IHC) reactivity to DOG1 and mammaglobin was validated against FISH targeting the ETV6 gene in all 14 cases. Results. Three cases with papillary cystic histomorphology previously diagnosed as ACC were revised to MASC. TEM features of the ETV6 rearrangement-positive MASC cases showed large numbers of secretory granules with extrusion into the intercellular spaces, well-developed endoplasmic reticulum, lipid-laden vacuoles, well-formed microvilli, and large lining cystic spaces. Conclusions. Combined DOG1 and mammaglobin immunohistochemistry is comparable to ETV6 -breakapart analysis for differentiating between papillary cystic variants of ACC and MASC.
Biomechanical Comparison of 3 Current Ankle Syndesmosis Repair Techniques
Authors: Clanton Thomas O. , Whitlow Scott R. , Williams Brady T. , Liechti Daniel J. , Backus Jonathon D. , Dornan Grant J. , Saroki Adriana J. , Turnbull Travis Lee , LaPrade Robert F.
Published: September 2016

Background:

Significant debate exists regarding optimal repair for unstable syndesmosis injuries. Techniques range from screw fixation, suture-button fixation, or a combination of the two. In this study, 3 common repairs were compared using a simulated weightbearing protocol with internal and external rotation of the foot.

Methods:

Twenty-four lower leg specimens with mean age 54 years (range, 38-68 years) were used for testing. Following creation of a complete syndesmotic injury (AITFL, ITFL, PITFL, interosseous membrane), specimens were repaired using 1 of 3 randomly assigned techniques: (1) one 3.5-mm syndesmotic screw, (2) 1 suture-button construct, and (3) 2 divergent suture-button constructs. Repairs were cycled for 500 cycles between 7.5 Nm of internal/external rotation torque under a constant 750 N axial compressive load in a neutral dorsiflexion position. At 0, 10, 100, and 500 cycles, torsional cyclic loading was interrupted to assess torsional resistance to rotation within a physiologic range of motion (15 degrees external rotation to 10 degrees internal rotation). Torque (Nm), rotational position (degrees), and 3-dimensional data were collected throughout the testing to characterize relative spatial relationships of the tibiofibular articulation.

Results:

There were no significant differences between repair techniques in resistance to internal and external rotation with respect to the intact syndesmosis. Three-dimensional analysis revealed significant differences between repair techniques for sagittal fibular translation with external rotation of the foot. Screw fixation had the smallest magnitude of posterior sagittal translation (2.5 mm), and a single suture-button construct demonstrated the largest magnitude of posterior sagittal translation (4.6 mm). Screw fixation also allowed for significantly less anterior sagittal translation with internal rotation of the foot (0.1 mm) when compared to both 1 (2.7 mm) and 2 (2.9 mm) suture-button constructs.

Conclusion:

All repairs provided comparable rotational stability to the syndesmosis; however, no repair technique completely restored rotational stability and tibiofibular anatomic relationships of the preinjury state.

Clinical Relevance:

Constructs were comparable across most conditions; however, when repairing injuries with a suture-button construct, a single suture-button construct may not provide sufficient resistance to sagittal translation of the fibula.
Efficacy of Foot and Ankle Corticosteroid Injections
Authors: Grice John , Marsland Daniel , Smith George , Calder James
Published: September 2016

Background:

Corticosteroid injections have been used for a variety of foot and ankle pathologies over the years, and our aim was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of them in our clinic.

Materials and Methods:

We performed a retrospective review of notes and a telephone questionnaire on the clinical outcome of all patients who underwent a corticosteroid injection of the foot or ankle in a year. All procedures were performed in an outpatient setting by a consultant musculoskeletal radiologist using either ultrasound or X-ray guidance and had a minimum of 2 years of follow-up.

Results:

Overall, 314 of 365 (86%) patients reported a significant improvement in symptoms, and 242 (66%) reported complete resolution of their pain, with 107 (29%) remaining asymptomatic at the 2-year follow-up. The mode time of recurrence of pain was 3 months. Fifty-one (14%) underwent a further injection and 88 (24%) underwent operative intervention within the follow-up period. Complication rates in our series were low. There were no reported infections. Complications occurred in 5 patients (1.3%), including steroid flare, pain, and plantar plate ruptures.

Conclusion:

Corticosteroid injections were a safe and effective option for treating a variety of foot and ankle conditions and reduced the need for surgery. They were particularly effective for the treatment of ankle soft tissue impingement. They appear ineffective in providing significant improvement in pain for longer than 3 months in conditions such as plantar fasciitis and hallux rigidus.

Level of Evidence:

IV, case series.
Correction of Hallux Valgus Interphalangeus With an Osteotomy of the Distal End of the Proximal Phalanx (Distal Akin Osteotomy)
Authors: Vander Griend Robert
Published: September 2016

Background:

Operative correction of a symptomatic hallux valgus interphalangeus (HVI) deformity is often achieved with an osteotomy at the proximal end of the proximal phalanx (Akin osteotomy). However, the apex of the typical HVI deformity (center of rotation angle) is at the interphalangeal joint of the hallux. This study was done to evaluate the results of performing a medial closing wedge osteotomy at the distal end of the proximal phalanx.

Methods:

Thirty-three patients (33 feet) underwent an osteotomy at the distal end of the proximal phalanx for correction of HVI. All of the patients had other forefoot deformities which were corrected at the same time. Eight of these were revision procedures of prior forefoot operations. The length of follow-up was determined by the associated procedures with a minimum follow-up of 4 months.

Results:

The preoperative hallux valgus interphalangeus angle averaged 16 degrees of valgus (range 7-32 degrees) and was corrected to an average of 2 degrees of valgus (range 5 degrees valgus to 5 degrees varus). All of the patients were satisfied with the postoperative appearance and function of the first toe. Because of simultaneous correction of numerous other forefoot problems, it was not possible to specifically isolate or evaluate the effects and benefits of this osteotomy using outcomes measures. There was one intraoperative complication resulting in a fracture extending into the adjacent IP joint.

Conclusions:

Correction of an HVI deformity can be achieved with an osteotomy at the distal end of the proximal phalanx. This was a safe technique with few complications and with good results in terms of both correction and patient satisfaction.

Level of Evidence:

Level IV, retrospective case series.
Programmer-guided reliability for extreme-scale applications
Authors: Bernholdt David E , Elwasif Wael R , Kartsaklis Christos , Lee Seyong , Mintz Tiffany M
Published: September 2016

We present “programmer-guided reliability” (PGR) as a systematic conceptual approach to address the expected rise in soft errors in coming extreme-scale systems at the application level. The approach involves instrumentation of the application with code to detect data corruption errors. The location and nature of these error detectors are at the discretion of the programmer, who uses their knowledge and experience with the problem domain, the application, the solution algorithms, etc., to determine the most vulnerable areas of the code and the most appropriate ways to detect data corruption. To illustrate the approach, we provide examples of error detectors from four different benchmark-scale applications. We also describe a simple control framework that allows for runtime configuration of the error detectors without recompilation of the application, as well as dynamic reconfiguration during the execution of the application. Finally, we discuss a number of future directions building on the basic PGR approach, including the incorporation of some general error detectors into the programming environment in order to make them more easily usable by the programmer.
Personalised medicine for multiple sclerosis care
Authors: Gafson Arie , Craner Matt J , Matthews Paul M
Published: September 2016

Treatments with a range of efficacy and risk of adverse events have become available for the management of multiple sclerosis (MS). However, now the heterogeneity of clinical expression and responses to treatment pose major challenges to improving patient care. Selecting and managing the drug best balancing benefit and risk demands a new focus on the individual patient. Personalised medicine for MS is based on improving the precision of diagnosis for each patient in order to capture prognosis and provide an evidence-based framework for predicting treatment response and personalising patient monitoring. It involves development of predictive models involving the integration of clinical and biological data with an understanding of the impact of disease on the lives of individual patients. Here, we provide a brief, selective review of challenges to personalisation of the management of MS and suggest an agenda for stakeholder engagement and research to address them.
Relationship between literacy skills and self-reported health in the Nordic countries
Authors: Lundetræ Kjersti , Gabrielsen Egil
Published: September 2016

Aims: This study investigated the association between literacy skills and self-reported health among Danish ( n = 7284), Finnish ( n = 5454), Norwegian ( n = 4942) and Swedish ( n = 4555) participants aged 16–65 years. Methods: Logistic regression models were used to assess the association between literacy skills and self-reported health after adjusting for sex, age and educational level. Results: Nordic participants aged 16–65 years with literacy skills at the lowest level reported sub-optimal health more often (28–37%) than those with literacy skills at the highest level (7–9%). After adjusting for sex, age and educational level, the likelihood of reporting sub-optimal health was 1.99–3.24 times as high for those with literacy skills at the lowest level as for those with literacy skills at the highest level. Conclusions:These results suggest that poor literacy skills increase the likelihood of experiencing poor health in the Nordic countries, even after controlling for educational level.
News about newspaper advertisers: To what extent can corporate advertising budgets predict editorial uptake and coverage of corporate press releases?
Authors: Lischka Juliane A , Stressig Julian , Bünzli Fabienne
Published: September 2016

News value theory aims to predict a story’s chance of being selected for publication based on news factors and ascribed news values. News values can also predict the coverage of corporate press releases. For news decisions, a newspaper’s revenue model may force editors to consider whether the source of a press release is an advertising client, despite the ‘separation of church and state’. In addition, for business journalism, corporate press releases have become an increasingly important news source. This study combines news values and advertiser weight to predict news coverage of press releases of banks in the news of partly and fully advertising-funded newspapers in Switzerland. Results show that advertiser importance can explain press release coverage concerning article length and tone in few cases, but has no universal news value. Public relations material is also not used as editorial subsidy for news. Larger companies are more successful in terms of press release uptake. However, their articles consist of a greater share of non-public relations material. Thus, our findings confirm editorial independence instead of copy-paste or obsequious journalism.
‘Moving life stories tell us just why politics matters’: Personal narratives in tabloid anti-austerity campaigns
Authors: Birks Jen
Published: September 2016

This article examines the use of personal narratives in two tabloid newspaper campaigns against a controversial welfare reform popularly known as the ‘bedroom tax’. It aims first to evaluate whether the personal narratives operate as political testimony to challenge government accounts of welfare reform and dominant stereotypes of benefits claimants, and second to assess the potential for and limits to progressive advocacy in popular journalism. The study uses content analysis of 473 articles over the course of a year in the Daily Mirror and Sunday People newspapers, and qualitative analysis of a sub-set of 113 articles to analyse the extent to which the campaign articles extrapolated from the personal to the general, and the role of ‘victim–witnesses’ in articulating their own subjectivity and political agency. The analysis indicates that both newspapers allowed affected individuals to express their own subjectivity to challenge stereotypes, but it was civil society organisations and opinion columnists who most explicitly extrapolated from the personal to the political. Collectively organised benefits claimants were rarely quoted, and there was some evidence of ventriloquisation of the editorial voice in the political criticisms of victim–witnesses. However, a campaigning columnist in the Mirror more actively empowered some of those affected to speak directly to politicians. This indicates the value of campaigning journalism when it is truly engaged in solidarity with those affected, rather than instrumentalising victim–witnesses to further the newspapers’ campaign goals.
‘We value your food but not your language’: Education systems and nation-building processes in Flanders
Authors: Clycq Noel
Published: September 2016

Education systems are crucial social and cultural apparatuses. They are designed to homogenize at least to a large extent the discourses and praxis of the citizens of a nation by channelling them as much as possible through a unified educational system. However, in ethnically and culturally diversified societies, these homogenizing social institutions can become counterproductive as they are primarily designed by and for the dominant ethnic group. This issue is particularly important in nation-building processes, something that is still explicitly ongoing in Flanders (Belgium), as these institutions put forward a unified nation with one culture and language. In this article we study how these macro-level processes can be related to the interaction processes in and between families and schools. The central research question this article tries to answer is: is the idea of a culturally and linguistically unified representation of the Flemish nation relevant when studying teacher-pupil-parent relations? We aim to build upon the existing literature by relating meso-level processes of institutional racialization and culturalization to micro-level interactions in educational settings and to macro-level processes of nation-building in Flanders. To answer these questions, we rely upon data from two qualitative research projects: (1) one study that focuses on the family socialization processes in ethnic majority and minority families and collected 42 interviews with parents; and (2) a second study that focuses on the educational trajectories of students, with specific attention on the school environment, and collected 114 interviews with students and 57 interviews with school actors. The findings show clear similarities between the macro-level processes and the interactions between families and schools in such a way that the article discusses if ongoing and explicit nation-building processes are capable of appreciating the existing diversity in a nation.
Measurements of global and local effects of wave impact on a fixed platform deck
Authors: Abdussamie Nagi , Ojeda Roberto , Thomas Giles , Amin Walid
Published: September 2016

This article describes a series of model tests conducted to examine extreme wave events associated with tropical cyclonic conditions and their impacts on an offshore deck structure. Extreme waves of a representative cyclonic sea state were examined in a towing tank within long-crested irregular wave trains. Experimental results presented include global forces and localised slamming pressures acting on a rigidly mounted box-shaped deck, which represents a simplified topside structure of a tension leg platform. The effect of static set-down on the still-water air gap was investigated by applying an equivalent reduction for the deck clearance. It was found that a small reduction of 20 mm (2.5 m full scale) in the original deck clearance can lead to a doubling of the magnitude of the horizontal force and the vertical upward-directed force components, as well as significantly increased slamming pressures in many locations on the deck underside.
Designing responsive environments through User Experience research
Authors: Hansen Kai
Published: September 2016

Ubiquitous computing systems are changing the way retail environments are being designed. With increasing frequency, User Experience designers leveraging ubiquitous computing systems that observe and respond to user behaviors are assuming roles once held exclusively by architects. As these systems continue their growth, designers of environments will need to acknowledge the underlying role of experience designer and embrace User Experience methodologies. We will discuss how ubiquitous computing has been leveraged in our research, and our position on how these systems are impacting the design of retail environments, illustrated by several examples of User Experience research projects, informing the experience design of retail environments.
Noncognitive Factors and College Student Success
Authors: Farruggia Susan P. , Han Cheon-woo , Watson Lakeshia , Moss Thomas P. , Bottoms Bette L.
Published: September 2016

Farrington and colleagues developed a model that contends that academic mindsets, academic perseverance, learning strategies, social skills, and academic behaviors affect academic success. This study tests a modified version of this model with first-year students ( n = 1,603) at a large, ethnically diverse, urban university. The hypothesized structural model had acceptable fit, with minor modifications. The direct effect on academic performance of academic mindset was strong, of academic perseverance was modest, and of time management was nonsignificant. Only participants’ academic performance had a strong positive effect on retention. Few differences by ethnicity were found. As mindsets are amenable to change, with intervention programs showing promising effects, students with low scores should be targeted to receive support early in their college careers so they may succeed in college.
Qualitative Inquiry and the Research Marketplace: Putting Some +s (Pluses) in Our Thinking, and Why This Matters
Authors: Cheek Julianne
Published: September 2016

In a crowded, competitive, research marketplace, association with the latest high-status brands and must-have products is crucial. Have we, and are we, adapting our qualitative inquiry to be associated with these leading brands and products? Addressing this requires adding some connections (+s) to our thinking about our qualitative inquiry and its interfaces with the research marketplace, such as those between funding, methods, publications, promotion, and tenure. Understanding the complexity of these connections enables us to decide which to ignore, negate, or embrace, and works against normalization of adaptive versions of qualitative inquiry shaped by the research marketplace.
Validation of NOViSE
Authors: Korzeniowski Przemyslaw , Brown Daniel C. , Sodergren Mikael H. , Barrow Alastair , Bello Fernando
Published: September 2016

The goal of this study was to establish face, content, and construct validity of NOViSE—the first force-feedback enabled virtual reality (VR) simulator for natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES). Fourteen surgeons and surgical trainees performed 3 simulated hybrid transgastric cholecystectomies using a flexible endoscope on NOViSE. Four of them were classified as “NOTES experts” who had independently performed 10 or more simulated or human NOTES procedures. Seven participants were classified as “Novices” and 3 as “Gastroenterologists” with no or minimal NOTES experience. A standardized 5-point Likert-type scale questionnaire was administered to assess the face and content validity. NOViSE showed good overall face and content validity. In 14 out of 15 statements pertaining to face validity (graphical appearance, endoscope and tissue behavior, overall realism), ≥50% of responses were “agree” or “strongly agree.” In terms of content validity, 85.7% of participants agreed or strongly agreed that NOViSE is a useful training tool for NOTES and 71.4% that they would recommend it to others. Construct validity was established by comparing a number of performance metrics such as task completion times, path lengths, applied forces, and so on. NOViSE demonstrated early signs of construct validity. Experts were faster and used a shorter endoscopic path length than novices in all but one task. The results indicate that NOViSE authentically recreates a transgastric hybrid cholecystectomy and sets promising foundations for the further development of a VR training curriculum for NOTES without compromising patient safety or requiring expensive animal facilities.
An improved geodesic algorithm for trajectory planning of multi-joint robots
Authors: Chen Youdong , Li Ling , Tang Wei
Published: September 2016

The present work proposes an improved geodesic algorithm for the trajectory planning of multi-joint robots. First, all of the joint variables are chosen to set up a generalized local coordinate system for the product of the positional space and the orientational one. Second, by defining a new Riemannian metric that contains both the positional and rational parameters, the traditional geodesic algorithm is improved so that it becomes capable of planning robot trajectories that include both the position and the orientation. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the improvement, trajectories are planned for two typical joint robots: one being a planar 3R and the other a spatial RRPP. It is verified that the improved algorithm can generate not only smooth motions for the joints but also smooth and accurate motions for the end-effector. The improved algorithm applies to multi-joint robots with no more than six degrees of freedom.
The Prison in Twelve Landscapes: An interview with film producer and director Brett Story
Authors: Story Brett , Brown Michelle , Carrabine Eamonn
Published: September 2016

Editors Michelle Brown and Eamonn Carrabine interview filmmaker Brett Story about her recent documentary, The Prison in Twelve Landscapes.
Stabilised bias field: segmentation with intensity inhomogeneity
Authors: Spencer Jack , Chen Ke
Published: September 2016

Automatic segmentation in the variational framework is a challenging task within the field of imaging sciences. Achieving robustness is a major problem, particularly for images with high levels of intensity inhomogeneity. The two-phase piecewise-constant case of the Mumford-Shah formulation is most suitable for images with simple and homogeneous features where the intensity variation is limited. However, it has been applied to many different types of synthetic and real images after some adjustments to the formulation. Recent work has incorporated bias field estimation to allow for intensity inhomogeneity, with great success in terms of segmentation quality. However, the framework and assumptions involved lead to inconsistencies in the method that can adversely affect results. In this paper we address the task of generalising the piecewise-constant formulation, to approximate minimisers of the original Mumford-Shah formulation. We first review existing methods for treating inhomogeneity, and demonstrate the inconsistencies with the bias field estimation framework. We propose a modified variational model to account for these problems by introducing an additional constraint, and detail how the exact minimiser can be approximated in the context of this new formulation. We extend this concept to selective segmentation with the introduction of a distance selection term. These models are minimised with convex relaxation methods, where the global minimiser can be found for a fixed fitting term. Finally, we present numerical results that demonstrate an improvement to existing methods in terms of reliability and parameter dependence, and results for selective segmentation in the case of intensity inhomogeneity.
A new augmented Lagrangian primal dual algorithm for elastica regularization
Authors: Zhang Jianping , Chen Ke
Published: September 2016

Regularization is a key element of variational models in image processing. To overcome the weakness of models based on total variation, various high order (typically second order) regularization models have been proposed and studied recently. Among these, Euler's elastica energy based regularizer is perhaps the most interesting in terms of both mathematical and physical justifications. More importantly its success has been proven in applications; however it has been a major challenge to develop fast and effective algorithms.

In this paper we propose a new idea for deriving a primal dual algorithm, based on Legendre–Fenchel transformations, for representing the elastica regularizer. Combined with an augmented Lagrangian for-mulation, we are able to derive an equivalent unconstrained optimization that has fewer variables to work with than previous works based on splitting methods. We shall present our algorithms for both the image restoration problem and the image segmentation model. The idea applies to other models where the elastica regularizer is required. Numerical experiments show that the proposed method can produce highly competitive results with better efficiency.