bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Multidimensionality of the Langner Symptom Survey and Replication of a Cutoff Score in Emerging Adults
Authors: Lace John W. , Haeberlein Kristen A. , Handal Paul J.
Published: January 2018

This study investigated the dimensionality of the Langner Symptom Survey and replicated a recent finding regarding a clinically validated cutoff score in emerging adults. Nine hundred thirteen (631 females and 282 males) students at a private university in the Midwestern United States participated online as part of a larger study and completed the Langner Symptom Survey and a demographic questionnaire. Results from exploratory principal components and confirmatory factor analyses provided support for both a six- and three-factor model of the Langner Symptom Survey, with the three-factor model offering marginally better confirmatory fit indices and greater parsimony of interpretation. A cutoff score of 5 denoting clinically significant psychological distress and need for treatment was supported through analysis of receiver-operating characteristic, sensitivity, specificity, and total classification accuracy based on psychological service utilization, and this result successfully replicated a recently published finding. The Langner Symptom Survey may function as a multidimensional measure of psychological distress and need for treatment in emerging adults that may need a lexical update.
Linking processes and patterns: Spatial planning, governance and urban sprawl in the Barcelona and Milan metropolitan regions
Authors: Pagliarin Sofia
Published: January 2018

Governance dynamics and spatial planning regulations are significant factors in the occurrence (or containment) of urban sprawl. However, qualitative investigations of the planning regulatory systems and practices, and governance arrangements that cumulatively stimulate suburbanisation, typically remain detached from land-change analyses. Based on the concept of institutional frames of spatial planning systems, this article elucidates how governance dynamics and spatial planning practices, at different scales, can partially explain suburban land-use patterns. The territorial transformations of two Southern European metropolitan regions, Barcelona and Milan, are examined through land-use data (1990–2012) at different territorial scales. Demographic (1991–2011) and administrative (2011) data are also analysed. In-depth interviews about individual and collective land management practices have been carried out, as well as document analysis concerning spatial planning laws and regulations. This research shows that the metropolitan character of urban sprawl originates from local planning practices mainly performed by municipal authorities through land-use micro-transformations. Further, it highlights the decisive role that higher-level institutions can play in land containment. Urban sprawl is hence not necessarily an unplanned phenomenon, but rather a ‘differently planned’ local and regional land-use strategy.
Demystifying Balint culture and its impact: An autoethnographic analysis
Authors: Sternlieb Jeffrey L
Published: January 2018

Balint groups are a structured group process designed for physicians and other helping professionals to provide feedback to each other concerning troublesome patient encounters. The process of Balint groups has survived and even thrived for more than a half century since their inception, suggesting their inherent value. However, measuring the impact in order to communicate the nature of that value has been elusive. A recent literature review highlighted the equivocal nature of research results and suggested that well-designed qualitative research may be more effective in selecting target measures which could result in better evidence for this group process. This paper describes such an effort using a qualitative analysis of the author’s own reflections about significant moments and learnings while participating in Balint groups.
Effect of SEBS-g-MAH addition on the mechanical, rheological, and morphological properties of polycarbonate/acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene blends
Authors: Debbah Ismahane , Krache Rachida , Aranburu Nora , Fernández Mercedes , Etxeberria Agustin
Published: January 2018

In this research, the effect of maleic anhydride–grafted styrene–ethylene/butylene–styrene (SEBS-g-MAH) compatibilizer on different properties of polycarbonate and poly(acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene) (PC/ABS) blends was investigated. For this purpose, blends of PC and ABS at different ratios, without and with varying concentrations of compatibilizer, were prepared by melt compounding in a co-rotating twin-screw extruder followed by injection molding. The effectiveness of the compatibilizer was investigated by studying the microstructure and the mechanical, thermal, and rheological properties of the blends. It was found that the addition of the compatibilizer increases tensile strength, modulus, elongation at break, impact strength, complex viscosity, and thermal stability. This effect was noted at a loading of 1 wt% of compatibilizer, where enhanced interactions between the PC and ABS can be seen. Rheological methods, based on dynamic viscoelastic tests, allowed us to distinguish between emulsion-like and co-continuous morphologies and allowed an insight into the effect of the compatibilizer on the interfacial tension.
The (Non)Impact of the 2015 Paris Terrorist Attacks on Political Attitudes
Authors: Castanho Silva Bruno
Published: January 2018

Previous research has consistently found widespread attitudinal impacts of terrorist attacks. Using data from the European Social Survey, which was conducting interviews in 11 countries when the Charlie Hebdo attacks happened in January 2015, I compare respondents from before and after the shootings to test whether the event shifted public opinion on several topics. There is no evidence of average impacts across a range of issues, from xenophobia to ideological self-placement and immigration policy preferences. Data collected when the Paris November 2015 shootings happened also present no evidence of public opinion change on immigration and refugee policy matters in France, but there appears to be an effect in other countries—which varies according to contextual vulnerability. Results suggest that views on immigration and immigrants have, to a certain extent, stabilized in Europe and are less susceptible to shifts from dramatic events.
Repair of Morgagni hernia and ventricular septal defect through sternotomy
Authors: Alkady Hesham , Abbas Mohammad Fawzy , Zayed Mahmoud , Elsayed Talha
Published: January 2018

We report a case of Morgagni hernia occupying the anterior mediastinum and right hemithorax in a male infant with Down syndrome, who also had a perimembranous ventricular septal defect. Through a median sternotomy, the hernia sac was freed from the right pleura, and the pericardium was opened to reduce its contents (colon) into the abdomen. The diaphragmatic defect was closed with Prolene mesh and the hernia sac was used to reinforce the diaphragmatic defect. Finally, the pericardium was opened and the ventricular septal defect was closed with a polytetrafluoroethylene patch through a right atriotomy after instituting cardiopulmonary bypass.
Silane coupling and mordanting as attachment techniques for pyridylazo and thiazolylazo ligands in the synthesis of adsorbents for uranium in seawater
Authors: Pooley Grace M , Adel-Hadadi Mohammad A , Li Weixing , Dietz Travis C , Barkatt Aaron
Published: January 2018

Activated carbon adsorbents modified with azo compounds (4-(2-pyridylazo)resorcinol, 1-(2-pyridylazo)-2-naphthol, 4-(2-thiazolylazo)resorcinol), or with allyl and vinylbenzyl derivatives of 4-(2-thiazolylazo)resorcinol, were observed to be highly effective in removing uranium from seawater and providing high loadings. Adsorbents consisting of azo compounds attached to fiber fabrics were prepared using silane coupling to attach azo reagents to silica fibers or mordanting agents such as tannic acid or aluminum acetate to attach them to cellulose fibers. Loadings of 15–45 mg U g−1 adsorbent were obtained. Scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy measurements confirmed the presence of high concentrations of uranium on the surface of the silica-based and cellulose-based fibers.
Feedback control of microbubble cavitation for ultrasound-mediated blood–brain barrier disruption in non-human primates under magnetic resonance guidance
Authors: Kamimura Hermes AS , Flament Julien , Valette Julien , Cafarelli Andrea , Aron Badin Romina , Hantraye Philippe , Larrat Benoît
Published: January 2018

Focused ultrasound (FUS) in combination with microbubbles is capable of noninvasive, site-targeted delivery of drugs through the blood–brain barrier (BBB). Although acoustic parameters are reproducible in small animals, their control remains challenging in primates due to skull heterogeneity. This study describes a 7-T magnetic resonance (MR)-guided FUS system designed for BBB disruption in non-human primates (NHP) with a robust feedback control based on passive cavitation detection (PCD). Contrast enhanced T1-weighted MR images confirmed the BBB opening in NHP sonicated during 2 min with 500-kHz frequency, pulse length of 10 ms, and pulse repetition frequency of 5 Hz. The safe acoustic pressure range from 185 ± 22 kPa to 266 ± 4 kPa in one representative case was estimated from combining data from the acoustic beam profile with the BBB opening and hemorrhage profiles obtained from MR images. A maximum amount of MR contrast agent at focus was observed at 30 min after sonication with a relative contrast enhancement of 67% ± 15% (in comparison to that found in muscles). The feedback control based on PCD using relative spectra was shown to be robust, allowing comparisons across animals and experimental sessions. Finally, we also demonstrated that PCD can test acoustic coupling conditions, which improves the efficacy and safety of ultrasound transmission into the brain.
Gender inequalities in the City of London advertising industry
Authors: Crewe Louise , Wang Annie
Published: January 2018

This paper explores gender relations in the City of London advertising industry. It argues that the gender imbalance in the highest ranking positions and the stifled career progression of women in the industry are a result of social, structural and institutional factors rather than individual choice, lack of ‘talent’ or the absence of mentors or appropriate role models. We discuss the organisation and spatiality of the advertising industry in London, significance of social networking within and beyond the firm, and problematise the notion that female childbearing and caring are the primary determinants of women’s truncated career trajectories in advertising. The research reveals that whilst age, gender and domestic divisions of labour combine to reinforce occupational sexual divisions of labour in the advertising industry in London, these inequality regimes are amplified by the industry’s precariousness, informality and requirements for flexibility. Attempting to explain away gendered divisions of labour solely on the basis of women’s role in social reproduction deflects attention away from other key determinants of inequality, most notably the pace of advertising work and the geographical concentration of the industry within London. These are further accentuated by deep-rooted forms of homophily and homosociality – those unspeakable inequalities that call into question the dominant post-feminist rhetoric that ‘all the battles have been won’ . We analyse the ways in which homosociality has been crucial in maintaining insidious sexism which has made it very difficult for female creatives to obtain the most prestigious roles at work. Taken together, the organisation and geography of the sector, the rhetoric of buzz and egalitarianism, the ‘motherhood myth’ and the homophilic practices at work within advertising combine to create deep and enduring gendered inequalities.
Rethinking the financialization of ‘nature’
Authors: Ouma Stefan , Johnson Leigh , Bigger Patrick
Published: January 2018

This editorial provides an analytical intervention to accompany the theme issue’s empirical papers on “Rethinking the Financialization of Nature.” The papers turn our attention towards three often neglected themes in prior research on finance and nature: (1) the frictional processes through which money leverages nature and resource-based ventures to produce more money (“Getting between M-C-M’”); (2) the role played by moralities, values, and affect in the financialization of nature and resistance levelled against it; and (3) the multiple roles of the state in mediating the circulation of finance in and through nature. We also engage with the politics of information and legitimation accompanying the financialization of nature to tease out levers for political critique. Finally, we map out a forward-looking agenda calling for research to engage more substantially with both the methodological questions accompanying the study of the financialization of nature, and the class dimensions of the process.
Internalized Stigma and Stigma-Related Isolation Predict Women’s Psychological Distress and Physical Health Symptoms Post-Abortion
Authors: O’Donnell Aisling T. , O’Carroll Tara , Toole Natasha
Published: January 2018

Researchers have provided evidence that accessing abortion relates to anticipated, experienced, and internalized stigma. These aspects of stigma have previously been associated with increased psychological distress and physical health symptoms. However, there has been no research on how anticipation, perception, internalization, and stigma-related isolation are related to psychological distress and somatic (physical) symptoms. We examined this question in an online volunteer sample of women in Ireland ( N = 155) who have had an abortion. Internalized stigma and stigma-related isolation significantly predicted higher levels of psychological distress, and internalized stigma also significantly predicted somatic symptoms. The direct effect of each type of stigma on somatic symptoms was mediated by psychological distress. Thus, to the extent that women had internalized greater stigma and isolated themselves, they also reported increased psychological distress, and this psychological distress predicted increased somatic symptoms. The relation between internalized stigma and somatic symptoms was also moderated by stigma-related isolation. Our findings complement and extend the existing literature on the relations between stigmatized identities, psychological distress, and physical health problems, particularly regarding women who have accessed abortion. They also indicate that those involved in policy-making and activism around reproductive rights should avoid inadvertently increasing the stigma surrounding abortion.
Effects of the opening of the Qinghai–Tibet Railway on municipal solid waste management generation in Lhasa
Authors: Ding Xu-tong , Wang Ji-hua
Published: January 2018

Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, is located on the Tibetan Plateau. Accelerated economic development and flourishing tourism resulting from the opening of the Qinghai–Tibet Railway (QTR) have increased solid waste generation and contamination in recent years. Using data from Lhasa Statistical Yearbooks and previous studies, this study estimates the future population of permanent residents and tourists using the least squares method to extrapolate the population from 2015–2025, and evaluates the effects of the QTR on municipal solid waste (MSW) generation in Lhasa and estimates future MSW generation. There were approximately 1.35 million tourists in 2008 when the QTR had been operating for 2 years and MSW generation was approximately 470 tons per day. The amount of MSW generated increased dramatically with time after opening the QTR. This study estimates that MSW generation will reach 962 tons per day in 2025. Due to the existence of the QTR, increasing numbers of people are traveling to Lhasa, and tourism has driven the development of the local economy. During the studies, the proportion of MSW produced by tourists increased from 2.99% to 20.06%, and it is estimated that it will increase to 33.49% in 2025. If the current trend continues, Lhasa will face significant challenges from garbage disposal. This study analyzes the current situation of urban garbage treatment in Lhasa, and it suggests several options for improvement to MSW generation, transportation equipment, disposal, and resource recycling.
Incidence, Risk Factors, and Outcome of Acute Kidney Injury in Neurocritical Care
Authors: Büttner Stefan , Stadler Andrea , Mayer Christoph , Patyna Sammy , Betz Christoph , Senft Christian , Geiger Helmut , Jung Oliver , Finkelmeier Fabian
Published: January 2018

Purpose:

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a severe complication in medical and surgical intensive care units accounting for a high morbidity and mortality. Incidence, risk factors, and prognostic impact of this deleterious condition are well established in this setting. Data concerning the neurocritically ill patients is scarce. Therefore, aim of this study was to determine the incidence of AKI and elucidate risk factors in this special population.

Methods:

Patients admitted to a specialized neurocritical care unit between 2005 and 2011 with a length of stay above 48 hours were analyzed retrospectively for incidence, cause, and outcome of AKI (AKI Network-stage ≥2).

Results:

The study population comprised 681 neurocritically ill patients from a mixed neurosurgical and neurological intensive care unit. The prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) was 8.4% (57/681). Overall incidence of AKI was 11.6% with 36 (45.6%) patients developing dialysis-requiring AKI. Sepsis was the main cause of AKI in nearly 50% of patients. Acute kidney injury and renal replacement therapy are independent predictors of worse outcome (hazard ratio [HR]: 3.704; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.867-7.350; P < .001; and HR: 2.848; CI: 1.301-6.325; P = .009). Chronic kidney disease was the strongest independent risk factor (odds ratio: 12.473; CI: 5.944-26.172; P < .001), whereas surgical intervention or contrast agents were not associated with AKI.

Conclusions:

Acute kidney injury in neurocritical care has a high incidence and is a crucial risk factor for mortality independently of the underlying neurocritical condition. Sepsis is the main cause of AKI in this setting. Therefore, careful prevention of infectious complications and considering CKD in treatment decisions may lower the incidence of AKI and hereby improve outcome in neurocritical care.
Wellness-Promoting Practices Through Girl Scouts: A Pragmatic Superiority Randomized Controlled Trial With Additional Dissemination
Authors: Cull Brooke J. , Dzewaltowski David A. , Guagliano Justin M. , Rosenkranz Sara K. , Knutson Cassandra K. , Rosenkranz Richard R.
Published: January 2018

Purpose:

To evaluate the effectiveness of in-person versus online Girl Scout leader wellness training for implementation of wellness-promoting practices during troop meetings (phase I) and to assess training adoption and current practices across the council (phase II).

Design:

Pragmatic superiority trial (phase 1) followed by serial cross-sectional study (phase II).

Setting:

Girl Scout troop meetings in Northeast Kansas.

Participants:

Eighteen troop leaders from 3 counties (phase 1); 113 troop leaders from 7 counties (phase II).

Intervention:

Phase I: Troop leaders attended 2 wellness training sessions (first in groups, second individually), wherein leaders set wellness-promoting practice implementation goals, self-monitored progress, and received guidance and resources for implementation. Leaders received the intervention in person or online.

Measures:

Phase I: At baseline and postintervention, leaders completed a wellness-promoting practice implementation questionnaire assessing practices during troop meetings (max score = 11). Phase II: Leaders completed a survey about typical troop practices and interest in further training.

Analysis:

Phase I: Generalized linear mixed modeling.

Results:

Phase I: In-person training increased wellness-promoting practice implementation more than online training (in person = 2.1 ± 1.8; online = 0.2 ± 1.2; P = .022). Phase II: Fifty-six percent of leaders adopted the training. For 8 of 11 wellness categories, greater than 50% of leaders employed wellness-promoting practices.

Conclusion:

In-person training was superior to online training for improvements in wellness-promoting practices. Wellness training was adopted by the majority of leaders across the council.
Micromechanics-based thermal expansion characterization of SiC nanoparticle-reinforced metal matrix nanocomposites
Authors: Hassanzadeh-Aghdam Mohammad K
Published: January 2018

Understanding the structure–property relations for metal matrix nanocomposites reinforced with nanoparticles is a key factor for a reliable and optimal design of such new material systems. In the present study, coefficient of thermal expansion of silicon carbide (SiC) nanoparticle-reinforced aluminum (Al) matrix nanocomposites is predicted using a three-dimensional unit cell based micromechanical approach. The model takes into account the aluminum carbide (Al4C3) interphase region formed due to the reaction between SiC nanoparticles and surrounding Al matrix. The effects of some critical parameters, including volume fraction and diameter of SiC nanoparticles, interphase features such as geometry and material properties on the coefficient of thermal expansion of Al nanocomposite are extensively investigated. The obtained results clearly reveal the high influence of the interphase region on the coefficient of thermal expansion of Al nanocomposite. Based on the simulation results, the coefficient of thermal expansion of Al nanocomposite nonlinearly decreases with the increase in the interphase thickness or decreasing SiC nanoparticles diameter. Furthermore, the role of interphase in the thermal expansion behavior of Al nanocomposite becomes more prominent with the reduction in the nanoparticle diameter. Also, the coefficient of thermal expansion of Al nanocomposite linearly decreases as SiC nanoparticle volume fraction increases.
Concern for Others Leads to Vicarious Optimism
Authors: Kappes Andreas , Faber Nadira S. , Kahane Guy , Savulescu Julian , Crockett Molly J.
Published: January 2018

An optimistic learning bias leads people to update their beliefs in response to better-than-expected good news but neglect worse-than-expected bad news. Because evidence suggests that this bias arises from self-concern, we hypothesized that a similar bias may affect beliefs about other people’s futures, to the extent that people care about others. Here, we demonstrated the phenomenon of vicarious optimism and showed that it arises from concern for others. Participants predicted the likelihood of unpleasant future events that could happen to either themselves or others. In addition to showing an optimistic learning bias for events affecting themselves, people showed vicarious optimism when learning about events affecting friends and strangers. Vicarious optimism for strangers correlated with generosity toward strangers, and experimentally increasing concern for strangers amplified vicarious optimism for them. These findings suggest that concern for others can bias beliefs about their future welfare and that optimism in learning is not restricted to oneself.
Attractive Serial Dependence in the Absence of an Explicit Task
Authors: Fornaciai Michele , Park Joonkoo
Published: January 2018

Attractive serial dependence refers to an adaptive change in the representation of sensory information, whereby a current stimulus appears to be similar to a previous one. The nature of this phenomenon is controversial, however, as serial dependence could arise from biased perceptual representations or from biased traces of working memory representation at a decisional stage. Here, we demonstrated a neural signature of serial dependence in numerosity perception emerging early in the visual processing stream even in the absence of an explicit task. Furthermore, a psychophysical experiment revealed that numerosity perception is biased by a previously presented stimulus in an attractive way, not by repulsive adaptation. These results suggest that serial dependence is a perceptual phenomenon starting from early levels of visual processing and occurring independently from a decision process, which is consistent with the view that these biases smooth out noise from neural signals to establish perceptual continuity.
Early Socioemotional Intervention Mediates Long-Term Effects of Atypical Rearing on Structural Covariation in Gray Matter in Adult Chimpanzees
Authors: Bard Kim A. , Hopkins William D.
Published: January 2018

Atypical rearing has deleterious effects on chimpanzee behavior during development, some of which can be ameliorated with a responsive care intervention (RCI). Here, we obtained in vivo magnetic resonance images of adult brains of 27 chimpanzees given institutional care, with and without RCI, and compared them with those of 16 chimpanzees mother-reared from birth. We found significant long-term rearing effects on structural covariation and gray matter volume, specifically in the basal forebrain (i.e., caudate, putamen, nucleus accumbens, rectus gyrus, and orbital prefrontal cortex), indicating that RCI prevented brain changes due to atypical rearing. A significant correlation between covariation in these brain areas and caregiver nurturing, experienced in the first month of life, suggests a possible developmental mechanism for the effect of early experience on brain networks. We identified an early intervention that prevents changes in the basal forebrain that otherwise emerge as a consequence of institutionalized rearing without species-typical socioemotional experiences.
Effect of injection parameters on the performance and emission characteristics of a variable compression ratio diesel engine with plastic oil blends – An experimental study
Authors: Govinda Rao B , Datta Bharadwaz Y , Virajitha Chukka , Dharma Rao V
Published: January 2018

Due to the depleting fossil fuel reserves and increasing environmental concerns, researchers have been studying the effect of adding different types of oils to diesel and more recently plastic oil. The present paper is an experimental study of the effect of compression ratio and injection parameters such as injection pressures and injection timing on the performance and emission characteristics of a variable compression ratio diesel engine fuelled with blends of plastic oil. Various proportions of ethanol and diesel are blended with plastic oils for the preparation of test fuels. It is observed from the experimental study that P90D5E5 blend gives the highest brake thermal efficiency yielding an increase of 16% and 38% compared with pure diesel and pure plastic oil, respectively. Smoke emissions are found to be the lowest for P90D5E5 than diesel and P100. Brake-specific fuel consumption, carbon monoxide and smoke values are reduced for all blends with an increase in injection timing, pressure and compression ratio. Combustion analysis of the blends indicates higher values of cylinder pressures and net heat release rates for P90D5E5 and P100, respectively.
ASD — Highland Precision Agriculture case study: Improving precision agriculture with visible and near-infrared spectroscopy
Authors: Kenaston Betsy , Crockett Christopher
Published: January 2018

Precision agriculture is an innovative and integrated approach to agriculture that aims to improve the efficiency of resource use and the decision-making surrounding variation on farms. During the past few decades, investments in precision agriculture research and technology have significantly increased worldwide. One such technological advance, near infrared spectroscopy, has been used as an analytical tool in the agriculture industry since the 1990s, and as instruments continue to evolve over time, the use of near infrared continues to progress. In this paper, current developments and future applications of visible and near-infrared spectroscopy (Vis-NIR) are discussed. The research aims to determine whether different pest infestation levels (in this case, the two-spotted spider mite) and other plant stressors on strawberry leaves can be distinguished spectrally using high-resolution Vis-NIR. Since research is still underway, the development of commercially viable monitoring methods remains in its infancy. However, the goal is to advance remote sensing techniques and image analytics to the point where fields can be scanned more quickly, efficiently, and accurately than with traditional monitoring methods.
Postoperative CEA is a better prognostic marker than CA19-9, hCGβ or TATI after resection of colorectal liver metastases
Authors: Peltonen Reetta , Österlund Pia , Lempinen Marko , Nordin Arno , Stenman Ulf-Håkan , Isoniemi Helena
Published: January 2018

Liver metastases of colorectal cancer can be operated with a curative intent in selected cases. However, more than half of the patients have a recurrence. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic and predictive value of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9), human chorionic gonadotropin β (hCGβ) and tumour-associated trypsin-inhibitor (TATI) in colorectal cancer patients before and 3 months after resection of liver metastases. Marker concentrations were determined in blood samples from 168 colorectal cancer patients, who underwent liver resection between the years 1998 and 2007 at Helsinki University Hospital, Finland. The samples were taken before and 3 months after curative resection. Increased concentrations of CEA (>5 µg/L) and hCGβ (>1 pmol/L) 3 months after liver resection correlated with recurrence and impaired overall survival and increased CA19-9 (>26 kU/L) with impaired overall survival, but postoperative TATI was not prognostic. Preoperatively elevated CEA and CA19-9 correlated with impaired overall survival, but not with recurrence. Neither preoperative hCGβ nor TATI was prognostic. In conclusion, CEA is a useful prognostic marker, when measured 3 months after resection of colorectal liver metastases. CA19-9 also has prognostic significance and may have additional value.
Risk Factors for Failed Nonoperative Treatment and Rerupture in Acute Achilles Tendon Rupture
Authors: Reito Aleksi , Logren Hanna-Liina , Ahonen Katri , Nurmi Heikki , Paloneva Juha
Published: January 2018

Background:

Nonoperative treatment is feasible in most patients with acute Achilles tendon rupture. Risk factors associated with failed nonoperative treatment are poorly understood. We investigated risk factors associated with rerupture after nonoperative treatment and otherwise failed nonoperative treatment of Achilles tendon rupture.

Methods:

All patients diagnosed with acute Achilles tendon rupture between January 2009 and June 2016 and who underwent 8 weeks of nonoperative treatment with functional rehabilitation were included in the study. Patients with rerupture or otherwise failed nonoperative treatment were identified retrospectively. Time to rerupture and association of age, sex, time from injury, diabetes, and visits to the physiotherapist for cases of reruptures and otherwise failed nonoperative treatment were investigated. A total of 210 patients were included in the study.

Results:

Fifteen patients sustained a rerupture. Rerupture incidence was 7.1%. Incidence of late reruptures, those occurring after return to daily activities at 12 weeks, was 1.9%. Six patients had otherwise failed nonoperative treatment. Median time to rerupture was 23 days (6 to 61) after the end of the treatment. The incidence of all-cause failure was 10.0%. Male gender was associated with reruptures ( P = .013) and failed nonoperative treatment for any reason ( P = .029).

Conclusion:

It is important to highlight the increased risk of rerupture in male patients during the first month after the end of the nonoperative treatment. Age alone, even in male patients, was a poor indication for operative treatment since it did not predict early failure. Further studies will hopefully clarify the influence of activity level on the risk of rerupture.

Level of Evidence:

Level IV, retrospective case series.
Using Machine Learning To Cocreate Value Through Dynamic Customer Engagement In A Brand Loyalty Program
Authors: Aluri Ajay , Price Bradley S. , McIntyre Nancy H.
Published: January 2018

Hospitality venues traditionally use historical data from customers for their customer relationship management systems, but now they can also collect real-time data and automated procedures to make dynamic decisions and predictions about customer behavior. Machine learning is an example of automated processes that create insights into cocreation of value through dynamic customer engagement. To show the merits of automation, machine learning was implemented at a major hospitality venue and compared with traditional methods to identify what customers value in a loyalty program. The results show that machine learning processes are superior in identifying customers who find value in specific promotions. This research deepens practical and theoretical understanding of machine learning in the customer engagement-to-value loyalty chain and in the customer engagement construct that uses a dynamic customer engagement model.
The Sociological Theory of Craftsmanship: An Empirical Test in Sport and Education
Authors: Thorlindsson Thorolfur , Halldorsson Vidar , Sigfusdottir Inga Dora
Published: January 2018

The aim of this study is to test empirically the sociological theory of craftsmanship originally developed by C. Wright Mills, Torstein Veblen, and Howard Becker and later extended by Harper, Sennett, and Fine. We conduct a quantitative analysis based on a nationally representative sample of 10,783 Icelandic adolescents (50.2% girls). We developed a scale measuring craftsmanship that we use to test several hypotheses regarding the role of craftsmanship in sport and education. Our findings provide a consistent empirical support for the theory of craftsmanship. First, they indicate that elements of the craftsmanship theory that have been identified by prior qualitative research go together as predicted to form a coherent theoretical construct and a measurement scale that is both reliable and valid. The craftsmanship scale therefore offers good opportunities for quantitative research in an area that has been exclusively qualitative. Second, our findings indicate that, as predicted, the craftsmanship approach makes schoolwork more meaningful and reduces general feelings of meaninglessness. Third, the findings show, as predicted, that the craftsmanship approach influences school performance in a positive way. Fourth, we find that the positive relationship between sport participation and school performance is in part mediated by craftsmanship. Finally, the findings show that the influence of craftsmanship on school performance is in part mediated by meaninglessness. We discuss the implications of the findings in light of sociological theory, culture and the social context of education and sport.
Young masculinities, purity and danger: Disparities in framings of boys and girls in policy discourses of sexualisation
Authors: Clark Jessica , Duschinsky Robbie
Published: January 2018

One of the reasons why it is ‘hard to explain’ the lack of attention to boys in discourses in sexualisation is that approached head-on, it appears that the focus on girls has no logic and is merely accidental. One might point to the research that is beginning to emerge on the increased visibility of the male body in visual cultures (e.g. Gill, 2009 ) and to boys’ fashion and embodiment (e.g. Vandenbosch and Eggermont, 2013 ). However, we propose that the tendency towards a problematisation of girls’ fashion and deportment and the invisibility of boys within policy and media discourses on ‘sexualisation’ is a systemic effect of constructions of gender and sexual subjectivity. In our society, we argue, signifiers of feminine purity operate as a form of symbolic capital, a construction that is not attributed to boys and which is integral scaffolding for the depiction of a subject as threatened by sexualisation. To illustrate our theorising regarding the ‘sexualisation of boys’, we shall examine an apparent exception to the rule: the Papadopoulos Review (2010), which explicitly attends to the sexualisation of boys and ends up re-emphasising rather than analysing the gendered and classed discourses of sexualisation. The Papadopolous Review indicates a moment at which a problematisation of the sexualisation of boys could have been triggered – since attention to both boys and girls was specifically part of the remit of the review – but was not, for specific sociological reasons to do with which subjects are assessed against the criterion of innocence.
Axiomatic: Constituting ‘transexuality’ and trans sexualities in medicine
Authors: Latham J.R.
Published: January 2018

This article argues that medicine misunderstands the necessarily complex ways trans people experience sexuality. Despite revisions to treatment guidelines and diagnostic descriptions, transgender medicine continues to be based on a paradigmatic narrative of ‘being born in the wrong body’. This narrative performatively reproduces sex, gender and ‘gender dysphoria’ as static, predetermined and independent of medical encounters. It also constructs trans sexualities as limited by and dependent on gender/genital ‘alignment’, which necessarily neglects many trans people’s sexual lives. By mobilising critiques of singularity from science and technology studies (STS), which emphasise how discourses and practices produce both what is knowable and materially possible, this article explores how medicine understands and constitutes ‘transexuality’ as a singular phenomenon that limits trans sexualities. By analysing contemporary medical guidebooks alongside the foundational text of trans medical treatment – Harry Benjamin’s (1999 [1966]) The Transsexual Phenomenon – I argue that medicine constitutes transexuality and understands trans sexualities via four axioms: 1) Transexuality is a disjuncture between mind and body; 2) Transexuality is hating having the wrong genitals; 3) Transexuality is painful and debilitating; and 4) Transexuality is resolvable with hormonal and surgical body modifications. In so doing, medicine flattens out the complexities of trans people’s experiences of gender and sexuality, and simultaneously disavows many trans people’s sexual lives.
Measuring emotion socialization in families affected by pediatric cancer: Refinement and reduction of the Parents’ Beliefs about Children’s Emotions questionnaire
Authors: Beitra Danette , El-Behadli Ana F , Faith Melissa A
Published: January 2018

The aim of this study is to conduct a multimethod psychometric reduction in the Parents’ Beliefs about Children’s Emotions (PBCE) questionnaire using an item response theory framework with a pediatric oncology sample. Participants were 216 pediatric oncology caregivers who completed the PBCE. The PBCE contains 105 items (11 subscales) rated on a 6-point Likert-type scale. We evaluated the PBCE subscale performance by applying a partial credit model in WINSTEPS. Sixty-six statistically weak items were removed, creating a 44-item PBCE questionnaire with 10 subscales and 3 response options per item. The refined scale displayed good psychometric properties and correlated .910 with the original PBCE. Additional analyses examined dimensionality, item-level (e.g. difficulty), and person-level (e.g. ethnicity) characteristics. The refined PBCE questionnaire provides better test information, improves instrument reliability, and reduces burden on families, providers, and researchers. With this improved measure, providers can more easily identify families who may benefit from psychosocial interventions targeting emotion socialization. The results of the multistep approach presented should be considered preliminary, given the limited sample size.
How the Spanish press frames obesity: A study of content published by El País, La Vanguardia, and El Correo in 2015
Authors: Armentia José I , Marín Flora
Published: January 2018

Obesity has become an ongoing focus of newspaper journalism. This study analyzes content published on this topic by Spanish dailies El País, La Vanguardia, and El Correo throughout 2015. During this 12-month period, these three newspapers published 183 news items that made some sort of reference to obesity, 59 percent of which were completely devoted to the problem. The research reported here has focused on identifying the dominant frames employed in this coverage.
Improving the Interface between the Profession and the University
Authors: Catterall Miriam , Clarke William
Published: January 2018

Market research is all too often portrayed in universities as a largely technical activity that services the information needs of marketing clients. This portrayal does not adequately reflect its applications beyond the marketing department or its impact on wider society. Practitioners and academics, working cooperatively, need to identify how the current curriculum might be broadened to incorporate more innovative and holistic perspectives and to regenerate academic research in market research.
Strategic Qualitative Focus Group Research
Authors: Cowley James C.P.
Published: January 2018

This paper addresses the urgent need for our profession to agree on and articulate the taxonomy of skills and signals of competency for those conducting qualitative market research focus groups.

It argues that this is required due to five factors: groups are used for strategic advice; they are high cost; people other than market researchers are offering them; the explanations of the skills seem to range from myth/magic through to experience and hard work; and for training and accreditation there has to be an agreed taxonomy.

The paper describes recent research into the views of 19 SQMRs (strategic qualitative market researchers) in Australia on this theme and related literature.

It proposes a model of the taxonomy of skills, a summary of a model of competency, a model of how SQMRs describe their analytical thinking in and outside of focus groups and an attempt to demythologise the skill and identify the cause of competency. It concludes by posing 15 questions for our profession.2
A Consumer-oriented Framework of Brand Equity and Loyalty
Authors: Morgan Rory P.
Published: January 2018

This paper criticises the ill-defined use of terms such as equity and loyalty in marketing, and suggests that there has been little success in reconciling different interpretations, despite the need for objective definitions in research. In identifying a distinction between those who define loyalty in terms of emotional affinity to brands and those who regard it in terms of purchasing behaviour, the author observes that each approach has generated its own research methodologies, but that these are unconnected. An outline description is given of a proprietary model for integrating various branding topics with the aim of successfully predicting purchasing behaviour.
Reducing Undecided Voters and Other Sources of Error in Election Surveys
Authors: Flannelly Kevin J. , Flannelly Laura T. , McLeod Malcolm S.
Published: January 2018

The present study found the number of undecided voters on forcedchoice questions about candidate preferences was roughly three times higher than that on subjective probability questions, and that election predictions based on traditional forcedchoice scales had a higher degree of error than predictions based on subjective probability scales. The findings show that subjective probability scales can introduce error when there are more than two candidates or parties in an election, but this can be easily corrected by the procedure for adjusting subjective probability scores that was used by Hoek & Gendall (1993). While the use of adjusted probability scores improved the accuracy of predictions in multicandidate races, no difference was found in the accuracy of predictions based on adjusted and unadjusted probabilities in elections with only two candidates.
Whenever I Hear the Word ‘Paradigm’ I reach for my Gun: How to Stop Talking and Start Walking
Authors: Smith David , Dexter Andy
Published: January 2018

‘Silence is the virtue of fools’ (Francis Bacon) We can look but eventually we'll have to leap. This paper is based on the premise that there is an irrefutable case for re-launching the market research industry with a new vision and a fresh set of guiding principles and day-to-day operational frameworks. We would argue that the massive changes that have taken - and are continuing to take - place in the way we collect, interpret and action business information mean that most market researchers now accept that their industry must urgently re-define itself and explain to the outside world what new market research is now all about. We are, of course, not the only commentators on the market research industry who have been calling for a new market research paradigm. Over the last decade, various commentators have been strongly arguing the case for a radical new approach to market research. This developmental thinking was usefully summarised in a paper given by Spackman, Barker and Nancarrow at last year's MRS Conference. In the paper the authors argued for a new approach that requires ‘a greater knowledge and appreciation of how different disciplines, theories, models and metaphors can bring a different perspective and so greater insight to marketing issues’. They dubbed this new approach ‘informed eclecticism’. So, in sum, our paper starts with an acceptance of the fact that the market research industry needs a ‘makeover’: it must clearly explain what it can and cannot do, and clarify the future role it intends playing in the constantly changing world of business information.
Human Factors in Business-to-Business Research over the Internet
Authors: Culkin Nigel , Brown Joseph , Fletcher Jonathan
Published: January 2018

This paper explores the problems and challenges surrounding the conduct of research via the internet among business audiences and highlights the great potential that exists for business-to-business research over the net. It also identifies some of the main obstacles to researching in this way, and examines the factors which cause them.
eB2B: Analysis of Business-to-Business e-Commerce and how Research Can Adapt to Meet Future Challenges
Authors: Noyce Darren
Published: January 2018

This paper will examine the current possibilities and probabilities for business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce. It will also examine current research methods and how they can adapt, ultimately through technology, to overcome the challenges and maximise the opportunities for B2B research. It examines all of the research, scientific and business electronic angles, while of course hoping not to confuse them!
Structuring and Measuring the Size of Business Markets
Authors: Macfarlane Phyllis
Published: January 2018

A review of business or ‘industrial’ markets research and how it differs from consumer research. Covers: a brief historical background to business research; how to define business markets; business market structures; business universes, sampling and statistics; collecting usage information; response rates and dealing with non-response; standard error calculations.
Inspiring the Organisation to Act: A Business in Denial
Authors: Thygesen Flemming , Mcgowan Paul
Published: January 2018

Describes the vital part played by research in compelling senior management at Levi-Strauss Europe to recognise the scale of the decline in the jeans market (1997-8), uncover the reasons for it and design the repositioning strategy. The paper illustrates the value of research being given a voice at board level in close partnership with the rest of the business. Research had to overcome considerable inertia in the company before the scale of the problem was recognised. Market segmentation methods were used to understand consumers’ changes of attitude. Brand innovation was consumer driven (e.g. the ‘youth panel’), and innovation followed in both product and retailing methods (described), with research acting in partnership with the design and brand teams. Winner of the Best Paper Award, Best Presented Paper Award and Case History Award at the 2002 Market Research Society Conference.