bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The English-Only Movement in the US and the World in the Twenty-First Century
Authors: Pac Teresa
Published: March 2012

Abstract

In this article, I examine the English-only movement in the United States and other countries in the first decade of the twenty-first century. Elaborating on research on the hegemony of English, this examination demonstrates English-only ideology, both linguistic and visual, as a primary means of restricting language and ethnic minorities’ access not only in the US, but also globally. First, I will present English as a social construction of the Anglo-Saxon elites in the process of the subordination of other language groups throughout American history up to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Second, I will briefly introduce the legislation of the Civil Rights Movement to show that language access increased the political presence of language minorities. Third, I will discuss the reemergence of the English-only movement appealing to nationalist sentiments in order to diminish language and ethnic minorities’ rising political presence in the US in the twenty-first century. Fourth, I will examine the spread of English-only ideology within the context of global capitalism, led by the US, in order to show forced compliance to the superiority of English by various diverse social groups on the global level.
Global Sushi: Eating and Identity
Authors: Edwards Paige A.
Published: March 2012

Abstract

Raw foods, especially raw fish, have not always been considered foodstuff in the US. Today, sushi has become so fused into Americans’ diets that it can even be purchased at popular supermarkets. Sushi’s growing popularity shows the influences of non-Western cultures in US society. What occurs as a result of this global mixing? What effects does this have on local food cultures? Through fieldwork in New York City, the Midwest and Japan, I explore the complexities of the global flow of both sushi and popular imaginings associated with it.
The Mondragon Cooperatives and 21st Century Socialism: A Review of Five Books with Radical Critiques and New Ideas
Authors: Davidson Carl
Published: March 2012

Abstract

This article is a review of five books on the Mondragon Cooperatives spanning several decades, not only to offer short critiques of their contents, but to use them as a starting point to bring Mondragon up to date and summarize its core philosophy in a way that helps the cooperative movement, and the wider socialist movement as well. The article is also full of interesting discussions held during a study tour in Mondragon in September of 2010.
1 Clement’s View of Ministerial Appointments in the Early Church
Authors: Moriarty W.
Published: March 2012

Abstract

The document known as the First Epistle of Clement, probably written towards the end of the first century, provides some of the scant available documentary evidence about the early development of the Christian ministry. It contains an outline history of the passing down of authority, but the relevant part of the Greek text has ambiguities which have led various scholars to propose five broadly different views, or interpretations, of Clement’s intended meaning. These were examined in relation to Clement’s purpose, an approach which relied primarily on evidence internal to the epistle, and had not been considered in detail before. Only one of the five views was found to make Clement’s argument reasonably consistent with his aims, and this view also made his lack of clarity understandable. Thus Clement’s intended message in the ambiguous section was that the first local church leaders were appointed by the apostles, and when some of these local leaders died, replacement appointments were made by people who had been given the authority to do so from outside the local church.
Healthy Ageing — A Patients’ Rights Perspective
Authors: Hartlev Mette
Published: March 2012

Abstract

The demographic development is a challenge for the European healthcare systems, and to meet these challenges it is crucial to develop efficient health preventive strategies to ensure that the population is, and stays fit as long as possible. However, along with demographic development, Europe is also facing a boom in lifestyle diseases which constitute an impediment for healthy ageing. Smoking and obesity are considered to be the major causes in this regard. Both internationally and nationally there has been a strong commitment to reduce smoking, and it seems that a combination of information, economic incentives and legal regulation have been successful. The article explores whether the same public health strategy could be useful fighting obesity, and discusses whether such public health measures are compliant from a human and patients’ rights perspective. Special questions regarding public health initiatives targeting elderly patients will also be addressed.
Dialogue and Power: Understanding Danish Public Diplomacy Efforts in the Middle East
Authors: Pultz Karina
Published: March 2012

Summary

Dialogue has become the grand new imperative of world politics in recent decades, particularly since 9/11 and the ‘war on terror’. It is also at the forefront of the agenda within the public diplomacy debate. This article points out that current attempts to capture public diplomacy through ‘soft power’ are of limited value for understanding dialogue as a central component in this field. The article claims that the notion of soft power should be supplemented with that of discursive power, which allows us to enquire into dialogue as a form of interaction that is able to transform identities. A case study on Danish-Middle Eastern dialogue activities illustrates that dialogue can be effective public diplomacy.
Imagination and Memory in Marsilio Ficino’s Theory of the Vehicles of the Soul 1
Authors: Corrias Anna
Published: March 2012

Abstract

The ancient Neoplatonic doctrine that the rational soul has one or more vehicles—bodies of a semi-material nature which it acquires during its descent through the spheres—plays a crucial part in Marsilio Ficino’s philosophical system, especially in his theory of sense-perception and in his account of the afterlife. Of the soul’s three vehicles, the one made of more or less rarefied air is particularly important, according to Ficino, during the soul’s embodied existence, for he identifies it with thespiritus, the pneumatic substance based in the brain which was believed to serve as an instrument for perception and imagination. He refers to the vehicles in his arguments against the theory of the transmigration of souls into the bodies of animals, claiming that the imaginative suffering experienced after death by souls in their aerial bodies are much more acute than the physical pain they might feel in bodies made of flesh and blood. Since the power of the imagination, for Ficino, is stronger than that of the four senses, the soul’s perceptive activity is more intense after death, when it has lost its earthly body and lives instead in a body made of air. The vehicles, moreover, provided Ficino with evidence for the individual immortality of souls, a doctrine that he was attempting to demonstrate philosophically against the position of Averroes and his followers. In his view, the vehicles ensured the survival after death of two faculties which were intimately connected to personal identity: the imagination and memory. By pointing out the role of the vehicles in transporting the soul’s innermost representations and memories through the universe, Ficino was able to show that the distinguishing traits of our personality are not lost with bodily death, but survive along with the vehicle that carries them.
Establishing and Dating Sinhala Influence in Sri Lanka Malay
Authors: Nordhoff Sebastian
Published: March 2012

The study of Sri Lanka Malay has focussed on the genesis scenario, where theories of creolization (Smith et al., 2004; Smith & Paauw, 2006) with a dominant role of Tamil compete with theories of convergence (Bakker, 2006; Ansaldo, 2008), which allow for a more important role of Sinhala. This paper assesses and reevaluates the empirical data brought forward by both sides and contributes more empirical data on parallels with Sinhala. These parallels are partly due to substrate reinforcement (Siegel, 1998) of marginal structures found in Malay varieties, partly they are clear calques on Sinhala patterns. Some structures must be analysed as the result of Early Sinhala Influence during the colonial period, while for others, a later development following socio-political changes after independence is possible (Late Sinhala Influence). The paper argues that SLM changes towards Sinhala at both periods can be seen as a kind of metatypy comparable to other language contact settings in Eurasia and Papua.
Comments on Nordhoff ’s “Establishing and Dating Sinhala Influence in Sri Lanka Malay”1
Authors: Smith Ian
Published: March 2012

Students of Sri Lanka Malay agree that the language has been heavily influenced by the local languages, Sinhala and Tamil. Differences arise over not only the degree and timing of such influence from each language, but also the extent to which the language developed through untutored second language acquisition (on the part of Tamil &/or Sinhala speakers) &/or intense bilingualism (on the part of Malay speakers). Nordhoff’s arguments for Sinhala influence are examined in the context of Thomason’s (2001) framework for establishing contact-induced change and found to be convincing for some features, but weaker or unconvincing in others. The argument for early Sinhala phonological influence is based on an unsurprising distribution and the mechanism of substrate influence (Siegel, 1998, 2008) which has not been shown to operate in the context of intense bilingualism. The linguistic differing consequences of untutored second language acquisition and intense bilingualism have not been thoroughly investigated, except on lexicon (Thomason and Kaufman, 1988). The Sinhalese component of Sri Lanka Malay lexicon stands at less than 1% (Paauw, 2004), a figure inconsistent with the claim of heavy Sinhala influence through intense bilingualism.
Commentary on Smith’s papers1
Authors: Nordhoff Sebastian
Published: March 2012

In his two contributions to this issue, Ian Smith nicely sets out criteria to establish language contact. Unfortunately, a rigorous application of the standards listed by Thomason (2001), which he endorses, is detrimental to his argumentation based on the Tamil accusative. Smith furthermore argues that phonological and syntactic influence should go together. This is intended to discredit Sinhala influence, but closer scrutiny of the argument shows that it actually discredits Tamil influence.

Smith’s papers furthermore are not informed by the socio-historical data and analysis presented in Nordhoff (2009), which are not compatible with his approach. Furthermore, Smith lists a phonological analysis based on syllable weight as a desideratum; such an analysis is also already found in Nordhoff 2009 and should have been consulted.
The Formation of Regional Italian as a Consequence of Language Contact.The Salentino Case
Authors: Golovko Ekaterina
Published: March 2012

This article examines the mechanisms involved in the formation of regional Italian from the perspective of contact linguistics. Varieties of regional Italian containing elements of both local dialects and Standard Italian (SI) are spoken throughout Italy; this paper focuses primarily on Salento, a southern region characterized by a strong bilingual environment. The aim is to investigate the interaction between a dialect and a standard language, as well as the concrete linguistic mechanisms involved. The historical background of the acquisition of SI and its diffusion throughout the national territory are considered crucial moments in language transmission. Sociolinguistic characteristics of speakers are also analyzed, as are three types of constructions: change of verb transitivity, use of polyvalent complementizer, and gerunds. The analysis confirms that the spoken variety of Italian, regional Italian, is a result of contact-induced change of SI influenced by the local dialect, Salentino.
Tractable Analytic Expressions for the Wind Speed Probability Density Functions Using Expansions of Orthogonal Polynomials
Authors: Morrissey Mark L. , Greene J. Scott
Published: March 2012

The use of the two-parameter Weibull function as an estimator of the wind speed probability density function (PDF) is known to be problematic when a high accuracy of fit is required, such as in the computation of the wind power density function. Various types of nonparametric kernels can provide excellent fits to wind speed histograms but cannot provide tractable analytical expressions. Analytic expressions for the wind speed PDF are needed for many applications, particularly in the downscaling of model or satellite wind speed estimates to the regional or point scale. It is demonstrated that the judicious use of an expansion of orthogonal polynomials can produce more accurate estimates of the wind speed PDF than relatively simply parametric functions, such as the commonly used Weibull function. This study examines four such expansions applied to two different surface wind speed datasets in Oklahoma. The results indicate that the accuracy of fit of a given expansion is strongly related to how close the basis weight function in an expansion resembles the wind speed histogram. It is shown that this basis function, which is the first term in the expansion, acts as a first “best guess” to the true wind speed PDF and that the additional terms act to “adjust” the fit to converge on the true density function. The results indicate that appropriately chosen orthogonal polynomials can provide an excellent fit and are quite tractable.
On Recent Trends in Atmospheric and Limnological Variables in Lake Ontario
Authors: Huang Anning , Rao Yerubandi R. , Zhang Weitao
Published: March 2012

The surface air and water temperatures increased at all seasonal and annual time scales during the last 40 yr in Lake Ontario. The annual mean air and surface water temperatures have increased by 1.43° ±0.39° and 1.26° ±0.32°C, respectively, over 1970–2009. The air temperature increased at a faster rate than the surface water temperature in winter and autumn, whereas in spring and summer the surface water temperature warmed faster than the air temperature. The length of summer stratified season has increased by 12 ± 2 days since the early 1970s due to the increase in water temperature. The decline of surface wind speed over Lake Ontario resulted in a shallower surface mixed layer and enhanced the summer thermal stratification, which increased the summer surface water temperature more rapidly than the air temperature.
Realism of Rainfall in a Very High-Resolution Regional Climate Model
Authors: Kendon Elizabeth J. , Roberts Nigel M. , Senior Catherine A. , Roberts Malcolm J.
Published: March 2012

The realistic representation of rainfall on the local scale in climate models remains a key challenge. Realism encompasses the full spatial and temporal structure of rainfall, and is a key indicator of model skill in representing the underlying processes. In particular, if rainfall is more realistic in a climate model, there is greater confidence in its projections of future change.

In this study, the realism of rainfall in a very high-resolution (1.5 km) regional climate model (RCM) is compared to a coarser-resolution 12-km RCM. This is the first time a convection-permitting model has been run for an extended period (1989–2008) over a region of the United Kingdom, allowing the characteristics of rainfall to be evaluated in a climatological sense. In particular, the duration and spatial extent of hourly rainfall across the southern United Kingdom is examined, with a key focus on heavy rainfall.

Rainfall in the 1.5-km RCM is found to be much more realistic than in the 12-km RCM. In the 12-km RCM, heavy rain events are not heavy enough, and tend to be too persistent and widespread. While the 1.5-km model does have a tendency for heavy rain to be too intense, it still gives a much better representation of its duration and spatial extent. Long-standing problems in climate models, such as the tendency for too much persistent light rain and errors in the diurnal cycle, are also considerably reduced in the 1.5-km RCM. Biases in the 12-km RCM appear to be linked to deficiencies in the representation of convection.
A New Regime of the Agulhas Current Retroflection: Turbulent Choking of Indian–Atlantic leakage
Authors: Le Bars Dewi , De Ruijter Wilhelmus P. M. , Dijkstra Henk A.
Published: March 2012

An analysis of the Indian Ocean circulation and the Agulhas Current retroflection is carried out using a primitive equation model with simplified coastline and flat bottom. Four configurations with 0.25° and 0.1° horizontal resolution and in barotropic and baroclinic cases are considered. The wind stress is taken as control parameter to increase the inertia of the currents. The volume transport of the Indonesian Throughflow, Mozambique Channel, and Agulhas Current are found to increase linearly with the wind stress strength, and three nonlinear retroflection regimes are found. A viscous and an inertial regime had already been documented, but a new turbulent regime appears at large wind stress amplitude. In this turbulent regime, the volume of Agulhas leakage reaches a plateau because of strong mesoscale variability and, in contrast to the other regimes, does not depend on the wind stress magnitude. The physical mechanism causing the plateau is shown to be associated with the cross-jet exchange of Indian Ocean water and water from the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. In the turbulent regime, the permeability of the Agulhas Return Current to material transport increases and the Indian Ocean water available for the Agulhas leakage decreases.
Simulation of a North American Monsoon Gulf Surge Event and Comparison to Observations
Authors: Newman Andrew J. , Johnson Richard H.
Published: March 2012

Gulf surges are transient disturbances that propagate along the Gulf of California (GoC) from south to north, transporting cool moist air toward the deserts of northwest Mexico and the southwest United States during the North American monsoon. They have been shown to modulate precipitation and have been linked to severe weather and flooding in northern Mexico and the southwest United States. The general features and progression of surge events are well studied, but their detailed evolution is still unclear. To address this, several convection-permitting simulations are performed over the core monsoon region for the 12–14 July 2004 gulf surge event. This surge event occurred during the North American Monsoon Experiment, which allows for extensive comparison to field observations.

A 60-h reference simulation is able to reproduce the surge event, capturing its main characteristics: speed and direction of motion, thermodynamic changes during its passage, and strong northward moisture flux. While the timing of the simulated surge is accurate to within 1–3 h, it is weaker and shallower than observed. This deficiency is likely due to a combination of weaker convection and lack of stratiform precipitation along the western slopes of the Sierra Madre Occidental than observed, hence, weaker precipitation evaporation to aid the surge. Sensitivity simulations show that convective outflow does modulate the intensity of the simulated surge, in agreement with past studies. The removal of gap flows from the Pacific Ocean across the Baja Peninsula into the GoC shows they also impact surge intensity.
Transformation through a Mirror: Moses in 2 Cor. 3.18
Authors: Litwa M. David
Published: March 2012

The odd juxtaposition of beholding God in a mirror and transformation in 2 Cor. 3.18 has incited many commentators to grasp for some parallel from Greek magic (R. Reitzenstein), catoptromantic ritual (H. Achelis), Dionysian mysteries (C. Wagner), Wisdom traditions (M. Thrall), Jewish hydromancy (J. Scott), ‘vision mysticism’ (A. DeConick), or Greco-Roman mythology (A. Weissenrieder). All of these proposals, it is contended, fail to note the key importance of Moses in 2 Cor. 3. Ancient Jewish exegetical traditions based on Num. 12.6-8 portray Moses seeing God through a mirror on Mt Sinai ( Lev. Rabb. 1.14; Philo, Leg. All. 3.99-101). Although most commentators note an allusion to Moses in another famous Pauline reference to a mirror (1 Cor. 13.12), the allusion to the Mosaic mirror in 2 Cor. 3.18 has not been explored. Using the Mosaic mirror traditions, this article argues that Paul knew and used Mosaic mirror vision as the model for Christian catoptric seeing in 2 Cor. 3.18. The Mosaic model indicates that the Christian vision through a mirror was thought of as both clear and involving a Mosaic-like metamorphosis into glory (Exod. 34.29-35).
Romans 1.1-5 and Paul’s Christological Use of Hab. 2.4 in Rom. 1.17: An Underutilized Consideration in the Debate
Authors: Young Stephen L.
Published: March 2012

Romans 1.1-5 provides contextual evidence that Paul cites Hab. 2.4 in Rom. 1.17 as a reference to Christ. Within the rhetorically and epistolographically signiﬁcant expansion of the letter opening, Rom. 1.1-5 introduces the εὐαγγέλιον θεου̑ as being about Christ and, more speciﬁcally, his resurrection – as promised beforehand ‘through the prophets in the holy writings’. Given certain recognizable correspondences between 1.1-5 and 1.16-17 and Paul’s continued association of Christ with the gospel in 1.9, Rom. 1.1-5 prepares the reader to hear ὁ δὲ δίκαιοϛ ἐκ πίστεωϛ ζήσεται in 1.17 as a prophetic reference to Christ, the Righteous One who will live because of his faithfulness.
Discipline, Sport, and the Religion of Winners: Paul on Running to Win the Prize, 1 Corinthians 9:24-27
Authors: Brock Brian
Published: March 2012

In 1 Cor. 9:25 Paul exhorts the Corinthian believers to strive like athletes for an eternal prize. This paper elucidates the communal horizon of the self-disciplining he enjoins, which overturns popular modern conceptions of individual fitness and performance training. Paul likewise defines the rewards of spiritual labour as aspects of participation in the communion of saints gathered by the gospel, disallowing a wholly post-temporal construal of the eternal reward which motivates Christian discipline. The paper concludes by raising questions about the theological status of modern sport, of theologies of sport, and of competition as a form of social organisation.
Sport as Liturgy: Towards a Radical Orthodoxy of Sport
Authors: Edgar Andrew
Published: March 2012

The purpose of this paper is to suggest that sport can be understood as a form of engagement with the fundamental contingency and vulnerability of the human condition, and as such that it expresses a yearning for meaning in a modern society that offers only the illusion of meaning. Sport, at its most profound, is argued to be a negative liturgy, in the sense that it highlights an absence of meaning, rather than offering a positive alternative. The paper draws on an analysis of contemporary society, and resultant defence of the potential role that liturgy might play in restoring meaning and a sense of transcendence to society, that is offered by the Radical Orthodoxy theologian Catherine Pickstock.
Authority in Sport
Authors: Austin Victor Lee
Published: March 2012

Herbert McCabe uses football (soccer) as an analogy for Christian ethics, the sports game being an illuminating abstraction from the concreteness of moral life. This paper explores three authorities in the life-abstraction that is sport: the referee, the coach, and the exemplary player. (1) The referee bears practical epistemic authority: he declares what counts as a play within the rules, and what shall be excluded as an invalid (non-rule-following) play. There are interesting authority-problems that arise when referees err. In ethics, epistemic authority is found in casuistry. (2) The coach bears social authority: she works to make her team function as a team, and at the same time to draw each player to her own excellence. Christian ethics values social authority in every truly human dimension. (3) The exemplary player is a personal authority. He demonstrates excellence of play, which goes beyond conformance to the rules and also goes beyond coaching. A complexification here is the relation of deliberate rule-breaking to excellence of performance. In Christian ethics, exemplary authority is held by the saint living in koinonia. The paper closes with the disanalogy that Christian ethics hopes for excellence in every person.
Victim Advocates’ Perceptions of Legal Work
Authors: Kolb Kenneth H.
Published: March 2012

Past scholarship has weighed the risks and rewards of legal remedies for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. Missing from this debate, however, is an analysis of the social incentives for victim advocates to offer legal options to their clients. Preliminary findings show that victim advocates perceive that outsiders respect legal work more than their care work with clients (listening, caring, and empathizing). This study offers three explanations for this phenomenon: (1) the devaluation of women’s care work in general, (2) the confidentiality constraints on communicating the value of their care work, and (3) popular assumptions that care work requires professional credentials in order to be legitimate.
Surviving the Storm
Authors: Bryant-Davis Thema , Ullman Sarah E. , Tsong Yuying , Gobin Robyn
Published: March 2012

African American women are at high risk for sexual assault. In addition, many African American women endorse the use of social support and religiosity to cope with trauma. The current study investigates the relationship between these two coping strategies and posttrauma symptoms in a sample of 413 African American female sexual assault survivors using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. Findings indicated that survivors with greater social support were less likely to endorse the symptoms of depression and PTSD. Conversely, increased use of religious coping was related to greater endorsement of depression and PTSD symptoms. Counseling and research implications are explored.
Leaving ≠ Moving
Authors: Ponic Pamela , Varcoe Colleen , Davies Lorraine , Ford-Gilboe Marilyn , Wuest Judith , Hammerton Joanne
Published: March 2012

Access to safe and affordable housing is a key concern for women leaving abusive partners. Yet little is known about women’s housing patterns around leaving. In this community sample, approximately equal numbers of women did not move, moved once, and moved two or more times during the transition period around leaving. Overall, moving patterns were associated with housing type and suitability, economic circumstances, and severity of violence. This study calls into question the tendency to equate leaving with moving, draws attention to the different housing patterns after leaving, and highlights the need to tailor housing supports to diverse women.
Situational Ambiguity and Gendered Patterns of Arrest for Intimate Partner Violence
Authors: Durfee Alesha
Published: March 2012

Using data from the 2005 National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), this analysis focuses on the impacts that domestic violence mandatory arrest policies have on arrest outcomes in “situationally ambiguous” cases: cases where both the female and male partners have been identified by police as both a victim and an offender. Results indicate that although officers arrest male partners more frequently than female partners, after controlling for incident and individual factors, mandatory arrest policies disproportionately affect women. Furthermore, correlates of arrest differ for male-only arrests versus female-only arrests. These findings are discussed in the context of changing legal responses to domestic violence.
The Attenuating Effect of Empowerment on IPV-Related PTSD Symptoms in Battered Women Living in Domestic Violence Shelters
Authors: Perez Sara , Johnson Dawn M. , Wright Caroline Vaile
Published: March 2012

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is associated with significant psychological distress, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, factors that attenuate the impact of IPV on PTSD remain largely unknown. Using hierarchical regression, this investigation explored the impact of resource acquisition and empowerment on the relationship between IPV and PTSD. Empowerment demonstrated greater relative importance over resource acquisition. Specifically, empowerment was found to attenuate the impact of IPV severity on PTSD at low and moderate levels of violence. The importance of fostering empowerment and addressing PTSD in addition to provision of resources in battered women is discussed.
Effect of an In-Clinic IPV Advocate Intervention to Increase Help Seeking, Reduce Violence, and Improve Well-Being
Authors: Coker Ann L. , Smith Paige H. , Whitaker Daniel J. , Le Brenda , Crawford Timothy N. , Flerx Vicki C.
Published: March 2012

This quasi-experimental study investigated the efficacy of clinic-based advocacy for intimate partner violence (IPV) to increase help seeking, reduce violence, and improve women’s well-being. Eligible and consenting women attending one of six selected clinics in the rural Southern United States were assessed for IPV. Consenting women disclosing IPV were offered either an in-clinic advocate intervention or usual care, depending on the clinic they attended and were followed for up to 24 months. Over follow-up time both IPV scores and depressive symptoms trended toward greater decline among women in the advocate intervention clinics relative to the usual care (business card referral only).
More like a donor or more like a father? Gay men’s concepts of relatedness to children
Authors: Dempsey Deborah
Published: March 2012

Lesbian mothers internationally have negotiated informal donor insemination arrangements with gay men since the earliest days of planned lesbian parenthood. In recent years, the relational status to children of these men has been subject to increasing legal and research scrutiny. In this article, based on interviews with Australian gay men, the various meanings of biological relatedness to children are explored from the men’s perspective. Of particular interest is the difference between a ‘donor’ and a ‘father’ for the men, and the extent of their complicity with patriarchal discourses about fatherhood. I argue that, on one level, it is important to distinguish between patriarchal concepts of relatedness that connote entitlement to authority, proprietoriality or legal rights over children, and the various other dimensions of affinity men revealed, including that predicated on biological relatedness. Men’s stories often indicated a strong sense of connection to children in the absence of a sense of parental entitlement. I also explore some slippage between ‘proprietorial’ and ‘connected’ concepts of relatedness which potentially have negative as well as positive implications for relationships with children growing up in lesbian-parented families and their mothers.
Shattering and reassembling hypersexual moments: Girls indulging in the pursuit of pleasure
Authors: Mudaly Ronika
Published: March 2012

A cultural lens, which is used to explore girlhood in the Southern African context, provides insight into traditional practices like virginity testing. The call for ‘retraditionalization’ of African youth, which is enacted through controlling and monitoring girls’ sexuality, is explored. Within this context, four teenage girls from schools in KwaZulu Natal, a province in South Africa, talk about how they understand their sexuality in ways that suggest that girls shatter and then reassemble the heterosexual terrain, through hypersexualized performativity, by ‘being girl’ in different ways. These teenage girls demonstrate hypervisibility and hypersexuality, and as they resist and subvert hetero-patriarchal cultural contexts, they go beyond projecting hyperfemininty and are largely driven by hedonistic behaviour. Through the use of innovative methodology, where girls are trained to serve as co-researchers to generate and analyse data, power is creatively deployed to enter the heterosexual matrix and find sites which reveal its pliable nature. Ways in which research participants actively resist or comply with heteronormative sexuality are analysed through the conceptual ideas of ‘moments of rupture’ and ‘sustained lines of flight’.
Regulating homophobic hate speech: Back to basics about language and politics?
Authors: Harvey Andy
Published: March 2012

Recently, there has been an explosion of legislation, introduced by the previous Labour Government after 1997, designed to curb ‘hate crime’. This article takes the most recent instance of incitement to hatred on grounds of sexual orientation as its starting point. I discuss the legislation in the context of debates around free speech and artistic autonomy. Making use of post-stucturalist, psychoanalytic and discourse theories I argue that there are conceptual and practical difficulties attached to the regulation of hate speech if analysed through a politics of subversive repetition. I conclude that a better approach is to think about language as reciprocal communication and to develop a politics of sustained engagement with society that ultimately adopts a more voluntary approach to changing popular uses of language.
Norwegian sexualities: Assimilation and exclusion in Norwegian immigration policy
Authors: Mühleisen Wencke , Røthing Åse , Svendsen Stine H. Bang
Published: March 2012

In this article, we discuss how certain sexual norms currently labeled as ‘Norwegian’ come into play in immigration policy related to marriage migrants and homosexuals who seek asylum in Norway. Our analyses indicate that discourses on sexuality in immigration politics are gendered and racialized at the Norwegian border. We discuss the continued significance of Orientalist notions that render its sexual subjects as inherently ‘different’ and supposedly premodern in contemporary regulation of immigration to Norway. Independence, freedom of choice and informed, strategic initiative, usually considered late modern ideals, seem to be grounds for suspecting the motivation for migration. Migration seems to be legitimate only when it is a result of necessity caused by the inherent emotional and sexual needs which signify the authentic homosexual and marriage migrant.
Desiring difference, desiring similarity: Narratives on sexual interaction between boys and men in the Swedish homosexual press 1954–1986
Authors: Rosqvist Hanna Bertilsdotter
Published: March 2012

The article explores talk about young men and relations between younger and older men in the homonormative rhetorical context of the Swedish homosexual press from the 1950s through the 1980s. The discussion is related to meanings of sexuality for the sake of pleasure (the pleasure ideal) and sexuality for the sake of love (the love ideal). Meanings of sexual relations between boys and men are nuanced in the homosexual press: by providing a variety of descriptions of sexual desire between men and boys, representing the boy as someone who can take both an active subject position and a passive object position in the relationship, and by separating homosexual practices from paedophilic practices. An earlier homonormative ideal or at least a socially sanctioned possibility of relationships between men and boys, as a less equal couple and partner ideal, is gradually replaced though, by a more equal couple and partner ideal based on an expectation of similarity.
Suffering from a Critical Oversight: The Persecutions of 1 Peter within Modern Scholarship
Authors: Williams Travis B.
Published: March 2012

Throughout the history of research, the topic of persecution has been one of the more heavily debated issues within the study of 1 Peter. At the moment, however, a general agreement has been reached concerning the nature of the readers’ problems. According to the modern consensus, the persecutions were localized and sporadic hostility consisting of verbal abuse and discrimination (i.e., ‘unofficial’ persecution). The present article will survey exactly how this consensus was reached, focusing particular attention on a key oversight which took place very early in the discussion. Our review will explore some of the significant effects which this omission has produced in the subsequent debate, while examining how a few of the most recent treatments have worked towards rectifying the situation.
Characterisation of laser welded dissimilar Ti/steel joint using Mg interlayer
Authors: Gao M , Mei S W , Wang Z M , Li X Y , Zeng X Y
Published: March 2012

Fibre laser welding of Ti–6Al–4V alloy to AISI 304L stainless steel (SS) using an Mg interlayer was developed. The microstructure and fracture behaviour of the joints were analysed by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. Accepted joints could be obtained under the optimised welding parameters. The cross-weld tensile strength of the joints was up to 221 MPa, recovering 94% of commercial AZ31B Mg alloy. The intermetallic compound of Mg17Al12 was observed in the Ti/weld interface, while no intermetallic compound was found in the SS/weld interface. The joints all fractured at the interfaces, but the fracture location changed from the SS/weld interface to the Ti/weld interface as the laser power was >2·5 kW. Furthermore, the strong links between laser power and joining mechanism were found and discussed by the experimental results.
Antigen-presenting genes and genomic copy number variations in the Tasmanian devil MHC
Authors: Cheng Yuanyuan , Stuart Andrew , Morris Katrina , Taylor Robyn , Siddle Hannah , Deakin Janine , Jones Menna , Amemiya Chris T , Belov Katherine
Published: March 2012

Background

The Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) is currently under threat of extinction due to an unusual fatal contagious cancer called Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD). DFTD is caused by a clonal tumour cell line that is transmitted between unrelated individuals as an allograft without triggering immune rejection due to low levels of Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) diversity in Tasmanian devils.

Results

Here we report the characterization of the genomic regions encompassing MHC Class I and Class II genes in the Tasmanian devil. Four genomic regions approximately 960 kb in length were assembled and annotated using BAC contigs and physically mapped to devil Chromosome 4q. 34 genes and pseudogenes were identified, including five Class I and four Class II loci. Interestingly, when two haplotypes from two individuals were compared, three genomic copy number variants with sizes ranging from 1.6 to 17 kb were observed within the classical Class I gene region. One deletion is particularly important as it turns a Class Ia gene into a pseudogene in one of the haplotypes. This deletion explains the previously observed variation in the Class I allelic number between individuals. The frequency of this deletion is highest in the northwestern devil population and lowest in southeastern areas.

Conclusions

The third sequenced marsupial MHC provides insights into the evolution of this dynamic genomic region among the diverse marsupial species. The two sequenced devil MHC haplotypes revealed three copy number variations that are likely to significantly affect immune response and suggest that future work should focus on the role of copy number variations in disease susceptibility in this species.
Genomic variation in Salmonella enterica core genes for epidemiological typing
Authors: Leekitcharoenphon Pimlapas , Lukjancenko Oksana , Friis Carsten , Aarestrup Frank M , Ussery David W
Published: March 2012

Background

Technological advances in high throughput genome sequencing are making whole genome sequencing (WGS) available as a routine tool for bacterial typing. Standardized procedures for identification of relevant genes and of variation are needed to enable comparison between studies and over time. The core genes--the genes that are conserved in all (or most) members of a genus or species--are potentially good candidates for investigating genomic variation in phylogeny and epidemiology.

Results

We identify a set of 2,882 core genes clusters based on 73 publicly available Salmonella enterica genomes and evaluate their value as typing targets, comparing whole genome typing and traditional methods such as 16S and MLST. A consensus tree based on variation of core genes gives much better resolution than 16S and MLST; the pan-genome family tree is similar to the consensus tree, but with higher confidence. The core genes can be divided into two categories: a few highly variable genes and a larger set of conserved core genes, with low variance. For the most variable core genes, the variance in amino acid sequences is higher than for the corresponding nucleotide sequences, suggesting that there is a positive selection towards mutations leading to amino acid changes.

Conclusions

Genomic variation within the core genome is useful for investigating molecular evolution and providing candidate genes for bacterial genome typing. Identification of genes with different degrees of variation is important especially in trend analysis.
The gap in injury mortality rates between urban and rural residents of Hubei province, China
Authors: Liu Qing , Zhang Lan , Li Junlin , Zuo Dan , Kong Deguang , Shen Xingfu , Guo Yi , Zhang Qingjun
Published: March 2012

Background

Injury is a growing public health concern in China. Injury death rates are often higher in rural areas than in urban areas in general. The objective of this study is to compare the injury mortality rates in urban and rural residents in Hubei Province in central China by age, sex and mechanism of injury.

Methods

Using data from the Disease Surveillance Points (DSP) system maintained by the Hubei Province Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from 2006 to 2008, injury deaths were classified according to the International Classification of Disease-10th Revision (ICD-10). Crude and age-adjusted annual mortality rates were calculated for rural and urban residents of Hubei Province.

Results

The crude and age-adjusted injury death rates were significantly higher for rural residents than for urban residents (crude rate ratio 1.9, 95% confidence interval 1.8-2.0; adjusted rate ratio 2.4, 95% confidence interval 2.3-2.4). The age-adjusted injury death rate for males was 81.6/100,000 in rural areas compared with 37.0/100 000 in urban areas; for females, the respective rates were 57.9/100,000 and 22.4/100 000. Death rates for suicide (32.4 per 100 000 vs 3.9 per 100 000), traffic-related injuries (15.8 per 100 000 vs 9.5 per 100 000), drowning (6.9 per 100 000 vs 2.3 per 100 000) and crushing injuries (2.0 per 100 000 vs 0.7 per 100 000) were significantly higher in rural areas. Overall injury death rates were much higher in persons over 65 years, with significantly higher rates in rural residents compared with urban residents for suicide (279.8 per 100 000 vs 10.7 per 100 000), traffic-related injuries, and drownings in this age group. Death rates for falls, poisoning, and suffocation were similar in the two geographic groups.

Conclusions

Rates of suicide, traffic-related injury deaths and drownings are demonstrably higher in rural compared with urban locations and should be targeted for injury prevention activity. There is a need for injury prevention policies targeted at elderly residents, especially with regard to suicide prevention in rural areas in Central China.
Evaluation of chemiluminescence, toluidine blue and histopathology for detection of high risk oral precancerous lesions: A cross-sectional study
Authors: Ujaoney Shweta , Motwani Mukta B , Degwekar Shirish , Wadhwan Vijay , Zade Prajakta , Chaudhary Minal , Hazarey Vinay , Thakre Tushar P , Mamtani Manju
Published: March 2012

Background

Early detection holds the key to an effective control of cancers in general and of oral cancers in particular. However, screening procedures for oral cancer are not straightforward due to procedural requirements as well as feasibility issues, especially in resource-limited countries.

Methods

We conducted a cross-sectional study to compare the performance of chemiluminescence, toluidine blue and histopathology for detection of high-risk precancerous oral lesions. We evaluated 99 lesions from 55 patients who underwent chemiluminescence and toluidine blue tests along with biopsy and histopathological examination. We studied inter-as well as intra-rater agreement in the histopathological evaluation and then using latent class modeling, we estimated the operating characteristics of these tests in the absence of a reference standard test.

Results

There was a weak inter-rater agreement (kappa < 0.15) as well as a weak intra-rater reproducibility (Pearson's r = 0.28, intra-class correlation rho = 0.03) in the histopathological evaluation of potentially high-risk precancerous lesions. When compared to histopathology, chemiluminescence and toluidine blue retention had a sensitivity of 1.00 and 0.59, respectively and a specificity of 0.01 and 0.79, respectively. However, latent class analysis indicated a low sensitivity (0.37) and high specificity (0.90) of histopathological evaluation. Toluidine blue had a near perfect high sensitivity and specificity for detection of high-risk lesions.

Conclusion

In our study, there was variability in the histopathological evaluation of oral precancerous lesions. Our results indicate that toluidine blue retention test may be better suited than chemiluminescence to detect high-risk oral precancerous lesions in a high-prevalence and low-resource setting like India.
Ameliorative effects of polyunsaturated fatty acids against palmitic acid-induced insulin resistance in L6 skeletal muscle cells
Authors: Sawada Keisuke , Kawabata Kyuichi , Yamashita Takatoshi , Kawasaki Kengo , Yamamoto Norio , Ashida Hitoshi
Published: March 2012

Background

Fatty acid-induced insulin resistance and impaired glucose uptake activity in muscle cells are fundamental events in the development of type 2 diabetes and hyperglycemia. There is an increasing demand for compounds including drugs and functional foods that can prevent myocellular insulin resistance.

Methods

In this study, we established a high-throughput assay to screen for compounds that can improve myocellular insulin resistance, which was based on a previously reported non-radioisotope 2-deoxyglucose (2DG) uptake assay. Insulin-resistant muscle cells were prepared by treating rat L6 skeletal muscle cells with 750 μM palmitic acid for 14 h. Using the established assay, the impacts of several fatty acids on myocellular insulin resistance were determined.

Results

In normal L6 cells, treatment with saturated palmitic or stearic acid alone decreased 2DG uptake, whereas unsaturated fatty acids did not. Moreover, co-treatment with oleic acid canceled the palmitic acid-induced decrease in 2DG uptake activity. Using the developed assay with palmitic acid-induced insulin-resistant L6 cells, we determined the effects of other unsaturated fatty acids. We found that arachidonic, eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids improved palmitic acid-decreased 2DG uptake at lower concentrations than the other unsaturated fatty acids, including oleic acid, as 10 μM arachidonic acid showed similar effects to 750 μM oleic acid.

Conclusions

We have found that polyunsaturated fatty acids, in particular arachidonic and eicosapentaenoic acids prevent palmitic acid-induced myocellular insulin resistance.