bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Herausforderung Leichte Sprache
Authors: Rosenkötter Nicole , Borrmann Brigitte
Published: December 2017

Hintergrund und Methoden In der Behindertenrechtskonvention der Vereinten Nationen wird u. a. das Recht auf den Zugang zu Informationen festgelegt. Texte sollen in zugänglichen Formaten und Technologien für Menschen mit unterschiedlichen Arten der Behinderung verfügbar gemacht werden. Für Menschen mit Lese- und Lernschwierigkeiten stellt v. a. die Sprache eine Barriere dar. Aus diesem Grund wurden Teile des aktuellen nordrhein-westfälischen Landesgesundheitsberichts in Leichte Sprache übersetzt.

Die Übersetzung wurde durch ein professionelles Übersetzungsbüro in Kooperation mit einer Prüfgruppe, zusammengesetzt aus einer Gruppe von Menschen mit Lernschwierigkeiten, sowie dem Landeszentrum Gesundheit NRW (LZG.NRW) durchgeführt. Hierbei zeigten sich aus Sicht der Gesundheitsberichterstattung verschiedene Übersetzungsprobleme. Deren Art und die gewählten Lösungsansätze werden in diesem Artikel näher beschrieben.

Ergebnisse Insgesamt wurden 3 Problembereiche im Übersetzungsprozess besonders deutlich: (1) (Hohe) Zahlen und Raten sind Hauptbestandteile der Gesundheitsberichterstattung, in der Leichten Sprache sollten diese jedoch vermieden werden. (2) Die Beschreibung der Altersstandardisierung und die damit zusammenhängenden Effekte sind schwer in Leichte Sprache zu fassen. (3) Das Finden der richtigen Balance zwischen Einflüssen des individuellen Lebensstils und weiterer Gesundheitsdeterminanten sowie die Entwicklung einer nicht diskriminierenden Ausdrucksweise bei der Beschreibung von sozialen Einflussfaktoren stellen besondere Herausforderungen dar.

Den Übersetzungsproblemen wurde folgendermaßen begegnet: (1) Zahlen und Raten wurden in der Übersetzung vermieden. Wenn dies nicht möglich war, wurden grobe Anteile benannt, die in der Einleitung anhand einer Infografik visualisiert wurden. (2) In der Übersetzung wurden zeitliche Entwicklungen nur in wenigen Einzelfällen benannt. Hierbei wurde die Entwicklung von rohen Raten dargestellt und, falls nötig, wurden Erklärungen (z. B. demografischer Wandel) in Leichter Sprache hinzugefügt. Bei Geschlechterunterschieden mit einer unterschiedlichen Ausprägung in der rohen und altersstandardisierten Rate wurden die altersstandardisierte Verteilung beschrieben. (3) Die Relativierung von plakativen Darstellungen bezüglich des Einflusses sozialer Gesundheitsdeterminanten und die Einbeziehung von Handlungsspielräumen der Verhältnisprävention mussten erkannt und bewusst in den Text eingearbeitet werden.

Schlussfolgerung Die Übersetzung eines Gesundheitsberichts in Leichter Sprache ist ein komplexer und langwieriger Prozess. Eine gute Kooperation zwischen Übersetzern, Prüfgruppen und der Gesundheitsberichterstattung ist für das Gelingen zwingend erforderlich.
Pilzberatung als Aufgabe des Öffentlichen Gesundheitsdienstes (ÖGD) in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Authors: Duty Oliver
Published: December 2017

Die Beratung der Bürger über die Essbarkeit von Pilzen erfolgt in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern durch Pilzberater, die im Auftrag des Öffentlichen Gesundheitsdienstes tätig sind. Land und Kommune teilen sich dabei die Aufgaben. Wie diese Arbeitsteilung funktioniert, welche rechtlichen Grundlagen existieren und welche Aufgaben durch die Verantwortlichen wahrgenommen werden, ist Bestandteil dieser Arbeit.
Purse-string transoral outlet reduction (TORe) is effective at inducing weight loss and improvement in metabolic comorbidities after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass
Authors: Jirapinyo Pichamol , Kröner Paul , Thompson Christopher
Published: December 2017

Background and study aims Transoral outlet reduction (TORe), performed using a traditional interrupted or a recently described purse-string suture pattern, is effective at inducing short- and mid-term weight loss in patients with weight regain after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB). We aimed to determine the technical feasibility and safety of purse-string TORe and to assess its impact on weight and metabolic profiles.

Patients and methods RYGB patients undergoing purse-string TORe were included. The gastrojejunal anastomosis (GJA) was ablated using argon plasma coagulation or dissected using endoscopic submucosal dissection. A suture was used to place stitches around the GJA in a continuous ring fashion. The suture was cinched over a balloon (8 – 12 mm). The primary outcome was technical feasibility. Secondary outcomes were the percentage of total body weight lost (%TWL), adverse events, impact on comorbidities, and predictors of weight loss.

Results 252 RYGB patients underwent 260 purse-string TORes. They had regained 52.6 ± 46.4 % of lost weight and weighed 107.6 ± 24.6 kg. The technical success rate was 100 %. At 6 and 12 months, %TWL was 9.6 ± 6.3 and 8.4 ± 8.2. Two serious adverse events (0.8 %) occurred: gastrointestinal bleeding and GJA stenosis. At 12 months, blood pressure, hemoglobin A1c, and ALT had improved. Prior weight regain was associated with %TWL at 12 months (β = 0.07, P = 0.007) after controlling for BMI, pouch size, and number of purse-string rings.

Conclusion Purse-string TORe to treat weight regain after RYGB is technically feasible and safe. Additionally, it is associated with improvement in weight and comorbidity profiles up to 12 months post-procedure.
Psychosomatosen und die Holy seven
Authors: Schmid Eva
Published: December 2017

Anfang der 1950er-Jahre beschrieb der Mitbegründer der psychosomatischen Medizin Franz Alexander, ein Arzt und Psychoanalytiker, sieben klassische psychosomatische Erkrankungen. Er nahm an, dass „spezifische Konflikte“ in großem Maße verantwortlich sind für deren Entstehung. Später wurden diese Erkrankungen als die sogenannten „Holy seven“ bekannt.
Auf dem Weg zum Closed-Loop – Ziel und Realität
Authors: Biester Torben , Danne Thomas , Kordonouri Olga
Published: December 2017

Eine vollständig automatisierte Insulindosierung ist der Wunschtraum von Behandlern und Patienten mit Typ-1-Diabetes. Schon jetzt können sensorunterstützte Insulinpumpen reduzierend in die Insulinzufuhr eingreifen. Ziel von Forschungsarbeiten ist es, in das Zusammenspiel aus Pumpe und Sensor einen Algorithmus zu integrieren, der die automatische Abgabe des Insulins im Sinne eines vollständigen Regelkreislaufs (Closed-Loop) reguliert.
Flugangst: Die Muskeln entspannen in wenigen Sekunden
Authors: Krefting R , Bayaz A
Published: December 2017

Angst zuzulassen muss nicht bedeuten, bei der Panik zu enden. Wir können lernen das Angstgeschehen zu beeinflussen, es bis zu einem gewissen Grad zu kontrollieren und den Aufschaukelungsprozess zu verhindern – und staunend wahrnehmen, dass die übrig gebliebene Angst durchaus zu ertragen ist und uns nicht länger zur Hilflosigkeit verurteilt. Angst, also auch Flugangst, geht einher mit Verspannungen der Muskeln.
Diabetesassoziiertes Sterberisiko unerwartet hoch - Jeder 5. Sterbefall in Deutschland ist durch einen Diabetes bedingt
Authors: Schikora Stephanie
Published: December 2017

Allein im Jahr 2010 waren in Deutschland insgesamt rund 175 000 Todesfälle mit einem Diabetes mellitus assoziiert. Dies sind weitaus mehr diabetesassoziierte Todesfälle als in der offiziellen Todesursachenstatistik angegeben sind, die von rund 23 000 diabetesbedingten Sterbefällen ausgeht.
Charge separation and carrier dynamics in donor-acceptor heterojunction photovoltaic systems
Authors: Teuscher Joël , Brauer Jan C. , Stepanov Andrey , Solano Alicia , Boziki Ariadni , Chergui Majed , Wolf Jean-Pierre , Rothlisberger Ursula , Banerji Natalie , Moser Jacques-E.
Published: December 2017

Electron transfer and subsequent charge separation across donor-acceptor heterojunctions remain the most important areas of study in the field of third-generation photovoltaics. In this context, it is particularly important to unravel the dynamics of individual ultrafast processes (such as photoinduced electron transfer, carrier trapping and association, and energy transfer and relaxation), which prevail in materials and at their interfaces. In the frame of the National Center of Competence in Research “Molecular Ultrafast Science and Technology,” a research instrument of the Swiss National Science Foundation, several groups active in the field of ultrafast science in Switzerland have applied a number of complementary experimental techniques and computational simulation tools to scrutinize these critical photophysical phenomena. Structural, electronic, and transport properties of the materials and the detailed mechanisms of photoinduced charge separation in dye-sensitized solar cells, conjugated polymer- and small molecule-based organic photovoltaics, and high-efficiency lead halide perovskite solar energy converters have been scrutinized. Results yielded more than thirty research articles, an overview of which is provided here.
Investigations on the role of mixed-solvent for improved efficiency in perovskite solar cell
Authors: Singh Ranbir , Suranagi Sanjaykumar R. , Kumar Manish , Shukla Vivek Kumar
Published: December 2017

The morphology of the spin-coated photoactive layer is one of the major factors affecting the performance of perovskite solar cells. In this work, we have employed a mixed-solvent strategy to obtain a high quality MAPbI3 (MA = CH3NH3) perovskite film, without pinholes and reduced grain boundaries. Perovskite films formed with single and mixed-solvents are systematically characterized for their optical, structural, and morphological properties using UV-vis absorption, photoluminescence (PL), X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) tools. The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the devices fabricated using the mixed-solvent showed better performance than the devices made using the single solvent. The best-optimized mixed-solvent perovskite film exhibited a PCE of 15.2% with uniform film coverage on the substrate, better charge generation, and a high hole mobility of 1.16 × 10−4cm2/V s. The disparities in photovoltaic properties have been analyzed with the intensity dependent current density-voltage (J-V), transient photovoltage (TPV), and relationship between photocurrent (Jph) and effective voltage (Veff).
Turbulence, transport, and zonal flows in the Madison symmetric torus reversed-field pinch
Authors: Williams Z. R. , Pueschel M. J. , Terry P. W. , Hauff T.
Published: December 2017

The robustness and the effect of zonal flows in trapped electron mode (TEM) turbulence and Ion Temperature Gradient (ITG) turbulence in the reversed-field pinch (RFP) are investigated from numerical solutions of the gyrokinetic equations with and without magnetic external perturbations introduced to model tearing modes. For simulations without external magnetic field perturbations, zonal flows produce a much larger reduction of transport for the density-gradient-driven TEM turbulence than they do for the ITG turbulence. Zonal flows are studied in detail to understand the nature of their strong excitation in the RFP and to gain insight into the key differences between the TEM- and ITG-driven regimes. The zonal flow residuals are significantly larger in the RFP than in tokamak geometry due to the low safety factor. Collisionality is seen to play a significant role in the TEM zonal flow regulation through the different responses of the linear growth rate and the size of the Dimits shift to collisionality, while affecting the ITG only minimally. A secondary instability analysis reveals that the TEM turbulence drives zonal flows at a rate that is twice that of the ITG turbulence. In addition to interfering with zonal flows, the magnetic perturbations are found to obviate an energy scaling relation for fast particles.
Molecular dynamics for ion-tuned wettability in oil/brine/rock systems
Authors: Tian Huanhuan , Wang Moran
Published: December 2017

The dependence of wettability on brine ionic composition in oil/brine/rock systems, which is denoted as ion-tuned wettability, has important applications in geoscience. Due to the involvement of non-continuum effects, molecular dynamics (MD) simulation is necessary to improve understanding of its mechanism. This work establishes a reliable molecular dynamics (MD) framework to study ion-tuned wettability. We prove that our model system can well represent the wettability of the real oil/brine/rock system, and that the wettability alteration from the MD results is qualitatively consistent with the EDL repulsion theory when ion-binding does not exist. In the process to establish the MD framework, our work suggests that adding counter ions to balance interface charges is good for studying concentration effect on wettability, and the contact angle defined from mass center coordinates is effective to measure the wettability of the nano-scale MD system. This work provides the basis for on-going studies using MD simulation to reveal the mechanism of ion-tuned wettability.
Thermal conductivity of Ca3Co2O6 single crystals
Authors: Che H. L. , Shi J. , Wu J. C. , Rao X. , Liu X. G. , Zhao X. , Sun X. F.
Published: December 2017

Ca3Co2O6 is a rare example of one-dimensional Ising spin-chain material with the moments preferentially aligned along the c axis. In this work, we study the c-axis thermal conductivity (κc) of Ca3Co2O6 single crystal at low temperatures down to 0.3 K and in magnetic fields up to 14 T. The zero-field κc(T) shows a large phonon peak and can be well fitted by using the classical Debye model, which indicates that the heat transport is purely phononic. Moreover, the low-T κc(H) isotherms with H || c display a field-independent behavior. These results indicate that there is no contribution of magnetic excitations to the thermal conductivity in Ca3Co2O6, neither carrying heat nor scattering phonons, which can be attributed to the Ising-like spin anisotropy.
Self-induced inverse spin-Hall effect in an iron and a cobalt single-layer films themselves under the ferromagnetic resonance
Authors: Kanagawa Kazunari , Teki Yoshio , Shikoh Eiji
Published: December 2017

The inverse spin-Hall effect (ISHE) is produced even in a “single-layer” ferromagnetic material film. Previously, the self-induced ISHE in a Ni80Fe20 film under the ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) was discovered. In this study, we observed an electromotive force (EMF) in an iron (Fe) and a cobalt (Co) single-layer films themselves under the FMR. As origins of the EMFs in the films themselves, the ISHE was main for Fe and dominant for Co, respectively 2 and 18 times larger than the anomalous Hall effect. Thus, we demonstrated the self-induced ISHE in an Fe and a Co single-layer films themselves under the FMR.
Micromagnetic measurement for characterization of ferromagnetic materials’ microstructural properties
Authors: Zhang Shuo , Shi Xiaodong , Udpa Lalita , Deng Yiming
Published: December 2017

Magnetic Barkhausen noise (MBN) is measured in low carbon steels and the relationship between carbon content and parameter extracted from MBN signal has been investigated. The parameter is extracted experimentally by fitting the original profiles with two Gaussian curves. The gap between two peaks (ΔG) of fitted Gaussian curves shows a better linear relationship with carbon contents of samples in the experiment. The result has been validated with simulation by Monte Carlo method. To ensure the sensitivity of measurement, advanced multi-objective optimization algorithm Non-dominant sorting genetic algorithm III (NSGA III) has been used to fulfill the optimization of the magnetic core of sensor.
Magnetic upconverting fluorescent NaGdF4:Ln3+ and iron-oxide@NaGdF4:Ln3+ nanoparticles
Authors: Shrivastava Navadeep , Rocha Uéslen , Muraca Diego , Jacinto Carlos , Moreno Sergio , Vargas J. M. , Sharma S. K.
Published: December 2017

Microwave assisted solvothermal method has been employed to synthesize multifunctional upconverting β-NaGdF4:Ln3+ and magnetic-upconverting Fe3O4/γ-Fe2O3@NaGdF4:Ln3+ (Ln = Yb and Er) nanoparticles. The powder x-ray diffraction data confirms the hexagonal structure of NaGdF4:Ln3+ and high resolution transmission electron microscopy shows the formation of rod shaped NaGdF4:Ln3+ (∼ 20 nm) and ovoid shaped Fe3O4/γ-Fe2O3@NaGdF4:Ln3+ (∼ 15 nm) nanoparticles. The magnetic hysteresis at 300 K for β-NaGdF4:Ln3+ demonstrates paramagnetic features, whereas iron-oxide@β-NaGdF4:Ln3+ exhibits superparamagnetic behavior along with a linear component at large applied field due to paramagnetic NaGdF4 matrix. Both nanoparticle samples provide an excellent green emitting [(2H11/2, 4S3/2)→4I15/2 (∼ 540 nm)] upconversion luminescence emission under excitation at 980 nm. The energy migration between Yb and Er in NaGdF4 matrix has been explored from 300-800 nm. Intensity variation of blue, green and red lines and the observed luminescence quenching due to the presence of Fe3O4/γ-Fe2O3 in the composite has been proposed. These kinds of materials contain magnetic and luminescence characteristics into single nanoparticle open new possibility for bioimaging applications.
Amplitude calibration of 2D mechanical resonators by nonlinear optical transduction
Authors: Dolleman Robin J. , Davidovikj Dejan , van der Zant Herre S. J. , Steeneken Peter G.
Published: December 2017

Contactless characterization of mechanical resonances using Fabry-Perot interferometry is a powerful tool to study the mechanical and dynamical properties of atomically thin membranes. However, amplitude calibration is often not performed or only possible by making assumptions on the device parameters such as its mass or the temperature. In this work, we demonstrate a calibration technique that directly measures the oscillation amplitude by detecting higher harmonics that arise from nonlinearities in the optical transduction. Employing this technique, we calibrate the resonance amplitude of two-dimensional nanomechanical resonators, without requiring knowledge of their mechanical properties, actuation force, geometric distances, or the laser intensity.
Comparison of biomass removal, nutrient manipulation and native seed addition to restore the ground layer of a degraded grassy woodland
Authors: Morris E. Charles , Gibson-Roy Paul
Published: December 2017

This study reports on a trial of methods to overcome barriers to restoration of degraded Cumberland Plain woodland. Soil scalping was compared with fire or slashing to remove existing canopy. Fire and slashing were combined with soil carbon addition at two levels, to reduce soil nitrate. Native seed was added to overcome a lack of native propagules. Treatments, applied to 2 × 2 m plots, consisted of a control; scalped; fire and slash treatments without carbon addition; fire and slash treatments at the low and the high carbon addition levels; and a further fire and a slash treatment at the low carbon level with no native seed added, to give 10 treatments in total. Scalping eliminated the existing canopy and reduced weed seed and bud banks allowing native species (and some colonising exotics) to establish by 33 months. Rapid re-growth in the fire treatment resulted in plant canopy abundance returning to control levels by 12 months, and native species richness on burnt plots remained similar to the control. Canopy abundance in the slash treatment remained lower than in the controls for 20 months, and native species richness increased by then. Carbon addition reduced canopy re-growth in both fire and slash treatments: in the fire-low carbon plots with added native seed, native species richness was double that of the controls by 20 months. This increase did not occur on slash-low carbon plots. The highest level of carbon addition had negative effects on plant growth and survival, resulting in the lowest native species richness. The non-scalping treatments had little effect on exotic species richness in the absence of carbon or small negative effects if combined with carbon.
Identification of MdDof genes in apple and analysis of their response to biotic or abiotic stress
Authors: Yang Qing , Chen Qiuju , Zhu Yuandi , Li Tianzhong
Published: December 2017

As a classic plant-specific transcription factor family – the Dof domain proteins – are involved in a variety of biological processes in organisms ranging from unicellular Chlamydomonas to higher plants. However, there are limited reports of MdDof (Malus domestica Borkh. DNA-binding One Zinc Finger) domain proteins in fruit trees, especially in apple. In this study we identified 54 putative Dof transcription factors in the apple genome. We analysed the gene structures, protein motifs, and chromosome locations of each of the MdDof genes. Next, we characterised all 54 MdDofs their expression patterns under different abiotic and biotic stress conditions. It was found that MdDof6,26 not only played an important role in the biotic/abiotic stress but may also be involved in many molecular functions. Further, both in flower development and pollen tube growth it was found that the relative expression of MdDof24 increased rapidly, also with gene ontology analysis it was indicated that MdDof24 was involved in the chemical reaction and flower development pathways. Taken together, our results provide useful clues as to the function of MdDof genes in apple and serve as a reference for studies of Dof zinc finger genes in other plants.
Values, credibility, and ethics: public advocacy and conservation science
Authors: Recher Harry F.
Published: December 2017

While it is important for conservation scientists to advise government on policy, they need to do more than give advice. Conservation scientists need to be public advocates for the creation of economies that are ecologically sustainable. To achieve sustainability conservation scientists must assume a role of leadership in the development and application of global environmental policies. Not all scientists agree with advocacy, but advocacy for conservation of the natural world means creating an ethical world, a world where all generations and people as well as all other species can share the Earth’s resources. At present that world does not exist and conservation scientists need to take a more active role in its creation.
Fungal-induced protein hyperacetylation in maize identified by acetylome profiling
Authors: Walley Justin W. , Shen Zhouxin , McReynolds Maxwell R. , Schmelz Eric A. , Briggs Steven P.
Published: December 2017

Significance

How pathogens manipulate host cellular machinery to enable infection is a major question in biology. The ability of
Cochliobolus carbonum
race 1 to infect susceptible corn plants relies on production of HC-toxin (HCT). While it is known that HC-toxin is a histone deacetylase inhibitor, knowledge of how HCT actually promotes virulence has remained elusive. Here, we use mass spectrometry to quantify protein abundance and levels of protein acetylation in HCT-treated or pathogen-infected plants. These analyses revealed that the activity of plant-encoded enzymes can be modulated to alter both histone and nonhistone protein acetylation during a susceptible interaction and suggest that virulent
C. carbonum
utilizes HCT to reprogram the transcriptional response to infection, resulting in an ineffective defense response.
ER–mitochondria contacts: Actin dynamics at the ER control mitochondrial fission via calcium release
Authors: Steffen Janos , Koehler Carla M.
Published: December 2017

The formin-like protein INF2 is an important player in the polymerization of actin filaments. In this issue, Chakrabarti et al. (2018. J. Cell Biol. https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.201709111) demonstrate that INF2 mediates actin polymerization at the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), resulting in increased ER–mitochondria contacts, calcium uptake by mitochondria, and mitochondrial division.
RETRACTED: Analysis and Research on Spatial Data Storage Model Based on Cloud Computing Platform
Authors: Hu Yong
Published: December 2017

In this paper, the data processing and storage characteristics of cloud computing are analyzed and studied. On this basis, a cloud computing data storage model based on BP neural network is proposed. In this data storage model, it can carry out the choice of server cluster according to the different attributes of the data, so as to complete the spatial data storage model with load balancing function, and have certain feasibility and application advantages.
Appropriation of Value from Competitive Advantages
Authors: El-Zayaty Andy , Coff Russell
Published: December 2017

Many discussions of the creation and appropriation of value stop at the firm level. Imperfections in the market allow for a firm to gain competitive advantage, thereby appropriating rents from the market. What has often been overlooked is the continued process of appropriation within firms by parties ranging from shareholders to managers to employees. Porter’s “five forces” model and the resource-based view of the firm laid out the determinants of value creation at the firm level, but it was left to others to explore the onward distribution of that value. Many strategic management and strategic human capital scholars have explored the manner in which employees and managers use their bargaining power vis-à-vis the firm to appropriate value—sometimes in a manner that may not align with the interests of shareholders. In addition, cooperative game theorists provided unique insights into the way in which parties divide firm surplus among each other. Ultimately, the creation of value is merely the beginning of a complex, multiparty process of bargaining and competition for the rights to claim rents.
Negotiating Work–Life
Authors: Berkelaar Brenda L. , Tronstad LaRae
Published: December 2017

How people negotiate the work–life interface remains a popular topic for scholars and the public. Work–life research is a large body of interdisciplinary scholarship that considers how people experience, navigate, and negotiate different roles, commitments, and boundaries within and across life domains—often with the goal of improving individual, organizational, and social well-being and success. Spurred by demographic, social, economic, and technological changes, scholars take difference perspectives on overlapping research areas which include work–life balance, work–life conflict, work–family conflict, boundary management, work–life enrichment or facilitation, as well as positive or negative spillover. Key issues addressed include the implications of framing work–life as a dichotomy, drivers of work–life outcomes, how ideals shape work–life negotiations, how individuals negotiate everyday work–life challenges and opportunities, and the influence of evolving information and communication technologies on the work–life interface. Research from multiple disciplines highlights the demographic, economic, moral, cultural, and national factors that affect work–life practices, processes, policies, tactics, and outcomes. This multidisciplinary perspective provides relevant insights for generative research and resilient practice for individuals, groups, organizations, or societies.
Japanese Empire in Manchuria
Authors: O'Dwyer Emer
Published: December 2017

China’s three northeastern provinces (Fengtian, Heilongjiang, and Jilin) were transfigured by Japanese imperialism in the opening decades of the 20th century. South Manchuria and the Kwantung Leasehold on the Liaodong Peninsula in particular became the site of a railway imperialism that would, beginning in 1905, allow Japan to claim a sphere of influence in the northeast and profit from the export of soybeans, coal, lumber, and other raw materials from the region. The South Manchuria Railway Company (or “Mantetsu”), which held the dual mantle of joint stock-owning company and governmental national-policy company, was the central organ in Japan’s so-called management of Manchuria. The expansion of Mantetsu’s rail network (originally built by Czarist Russia in the late 1890s) in the post–World War I years allowed for greater extraction of resources and greater wealth for company stockholders, while giving rise to an upswell of protest from a burgeoning nationalist movement in mainland China as well as in the northeast itself. Throughout the preconquest period (pre-September 1931), bureaucrats, Mantetsu employees, doctors, teachers, and economic sojourners of every stripe made a home for themselves in Japanese Manchuria, parts of which were transformed to replicate the modern conveniences and amenities of the metropole’s urban centers.

The Manchurian Incident, which began on September 18, 1931, with a plot by renegade officers from the Kwantung Army (a division of the Japanese Imperial Army) to destroy Mantetsu track and blame it on Chinese brigands, led to the military takeover of the three northeastern provinces by January 1932. The establishment of the army-led state of Manchukuo in March 1932 gave way to a new kind of Japanese power and influence on the continent—one that operated independently from Tokyo and at the pleasure of the Kwantung Army. Despite repeated proclamations of pan-Asian unity and the harmony of the five races by the state’s propaganda agents, Manchukuo existed for the purpose of strengthening Japan’s war machine, as well as for planning a total renovation of the domestic Japanese state in line with army objectives.
The Ethiopian Red Terror
Authors: Wiebel Jacob
Published: December 2017

The Red Terror was a period of intense political and inter-communal violence in revolutionary Ethiopia during the late 1970s. This violence erupted two years after the revolution of 1974 and was concentrated in the cities and towns of Ethiopia, particularly in Addis Ababa, Gondar, Asmara, and Dessie. In the struggle over the direction and ownership of the revolution, opposition groups of the radical left violently opposed a military regime that itself came to embrace and promulgate Marxist-Leninist language and policies, and that relied heavily on the use of armed force to stifle dissent. While much of the violence was carried out by security personnel, the delegation of the state’s means and instruments of violence to newly formed militias and to armed citizens was a defining feature of the Red Terror. The number of casualties and victims of the Red Terror remains heavily contested and is subject to divergent counting criteria and to definitions of the Terror’s scope in relation to other concurrent conflicts in the region, such as the Eritrean and Tigrayan civil wars; plausible figures suggest more than 50,000 deaths, in addition to many more who were subjected to torture, exile, personal losses, and other forms of violence. To this day, the Red Terror constitutes a period that is remembered in Ethiopia as much for the forms of its violence as for the extent of its harm. Its ramifications, from the support it triggered for the ethno-nationalist insurgencies that overthrew the military regime in 1991, to its role in the emergence of a sizeable Ethiopian diaspora, make the Red Terror an episode of defining and lasting significance in the modern history of Ethiopia.
Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Precolonial Sub-Saharan African Farming and Herding Communities
Authors: Lane Paul , Shoemaker Anna
Published: December 2017

Agricultural practices on the African continent are exceptionally diverse and have deep histories spanning at least eight millennia. Over time, farmers and herders have independently domesticated different food crops and a more limited range of animals, and have effectively modified numerous ecological niches to better suit their needs. They have also adopted “exotic” species from other parts of the globe, nurturing these to produce new cross-breeds and varieties better adapted to African conditions. Evidence for the origins of these different approaches to food production and their subsequent entanglement is attested by diverse sources. These include archaeological remains, bio- and geo-archaeological signatures, genetic data, historical linguistics, and processes of landscape domestication.
Technology Standards in International Communication
Authors: Hart Jeffrey
Published: December 2017

Technology standards are norms or requirements established by consensus and approved by a recognized body that sets uniform engineering or technical criteria. They also come in three types: reference, minimum quality, and compatibility standards. A reference standard is a material, device, or instrument whose assigned value is known relative to national standards or nationally accepted measurement systems. A minimum quality standard, meanwhile, sets criteria for quality, permitting sellers to certify a good or a service as meeting (or not) those criteria. Finally, compatibility standards set criteria for how a device works with other devices. Technology standards have always been important in the world economy, but they are becoming more so in the electronic age. Firms compete with one another for the prestige of establishing a new standard and especially technology platforms or architectures, and governments try to get standards adopted internationally that result in more local jobs and income. This is increasingly difficult as the world economy becomes more global, but that poses no deterrent. International relations scholars have adopted economist and rationalist choice approaches to standard setting in technology. They go beyond them, however, to talk about standards as part of an overall governance system or regime, especially in international affairs.
Using Facebook as an Educational Resource in the Classroom
Authors: Shaw Carolyn M.
Published: December 2017

Facebook is a social networking site created in 2004 which has since obtained over a billion users, and it has the potential to facilitate learning in the classroom. With the widespread use of Facebook in society, it simply makes sense to look into ways it might be used in higher education. In fact, a number of studies have been done by scholars in different disciplines regarding the use of Facebook (in general and in academia). These include studies by scholars in library science, education, media and communication, psychology, management information systems, business, political science, marketing, instructional technology, and commerce and accounting. Students come to school wired and are willing and eager to use technology, but higher education has a well-established trend toward non-adoption of new technologies. A variety of studies on the use of Facebook, however, indicate that there are a wide number of potential benefits to using Facebook as an educational tool. There are four inter-related potential benefits: creating a sense of community and promoting collaboration, enhancing communication between instructors and students, developing computer literacy and language skills, and incorporating current student culture into the learning environment. In addition, Facebook is particularly well suited for sharing and discussion of current events in the news.
Electronic Commerce
Authors: Knight Sarah Cleeland , Mann Catherine L.
Published: December 2017

Electronic commerce (or e-commerce) is the purchase or sale of goods or services over any kind of computer network. Possible networks include the Internet; an extranet, which is a private platform that uses Internet technology, or TCP/IP; and an electronic data interchange (EDI) network. The study of e‐commerce can be roughly divided into three levels of analysis: global systemic, state, and individual firm or person. The global systemic or international level considers how e‐commerce influences relations between states. The state level considers how e‐commerce affects the business of government and the relationship between the state and society (including firms and persons). It allows one to compare similarities and differences in terms of what governments are doing to promote (or, less commonly, to discourage) the use of e‐commerce, and the impact of e‐commerce on a country’s economic performance. Finally, the individual level, which looks at firms as well as individual persons, considers how e‐commerce changes how firms and individuals interact within a given society, whether through their economic relations or otherwise. The literature on e‐commerce differs by discipline, with considerably more attention given to e‐commerce by the legal, business, and technical communities than by our respective social science disciplines, economics, and political science.
Evolution of International Organization as Institutional Forms and Historical Processes Since 1945: “ Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodies ?”
Authors: Fomerand Jacques F.
Published: December 2017

International organizations (IOs) are a byproduct of the European Westphalian anarchical interstate system to facilitate interstate international economic, social or technical cooperation. They grew exponentially in the second half of the 20th century and have become a ubiquitous component of the international relations landscape. There is now a glut of theories, each making different assumptions about the nature of international politics, focusing attention on different aspects of IO and propounding widely diverging conclusions about the role and functions of IOs. There is, however, a trend among these: the legal/historical tradition which initially provided the intellectual lens through which IOs were understood has given way to a mix of realist regime theory and liberal intergovernmentalism views. In a broad comparative public policy analysis framework, scholarship continues to evolve on the norm-making, regulatory, distributive, and redistributive policies emanating from IOs together with their impact and legitimacy.
International Organization and Environmental Governance
Authors: Busby Joshua W.
Published: December 2017

While some attempts to deal with transborder environmental issues have a longer history, the formal international organizations that have buildings and staff were mostly created in the shadow of World War II. As global environmental governance has evolved, the lexicon in academia has changed from talking about transnationalism and interdependence to writing about regimes and, more recently, institutional design and effectiveness. The actors worthy of study have also changed. The discipline has moved, from writing about states and formal international organizations, to discussing a variety of non-state actors including nongovernmental organizations, businesses, and public-private partnerships. The field has come full circle to talk about internal bureaucratic processes and the politics of particular organizations.

This article aims to provide a thematic and somewhat chronological overview of the broader field of international organizational and environmental governance. This updated survey identifies some new topics that not have been captured by earlier efforts and reviews the following central themes:

1. International Institutions And Regime Theory

2. Ratification and Compliance

3. Regime Effectiveness and Design

4. Bureaucratic Politics and Organizational Pathologies

5. The Rise And Role Of Non-State Actors

6. From Government To Governance: Private And Hybrid Models
Sherman’s March in American History and Cultural Memory
Authors: Rubin Anne Sarah
Published: December 2017

Sherman’s March, more accurately known as the Georgia and Carolinas Campaigns, cut a swath across three states in 1864–1865. It was one of the most significant campaigns of the war, making Confederate civilians “howl” as farms and plantations were stripped of everything edible and all their valuables. Outbuildings, and occasionally homes, were burned, railroads were destroyed, and enslaved workers were emancipated. Long after the war ended, Sherman’s March continued to shape American’s memories as one of the most symbolically powerful aspects of the Civil War.

Sherman’s March began with the better-known March to the Sea, which started in Atlanta on November 15, 1864, and concluded in Savannah on December 22 of the same year. Sherman’s men proceeded through South Carolina and North Carolina in February, March, and April of 1865. The study of this military campaign illuminates the relationships between Sherman’s soldiers and Southern white civilians, especially women, and African Americans. Sherman’s men were often uncomfortable with their role as an army of liberation, and African Americans, in particular, found the March to be a double-edged sword.
Acquisition of Pragmatics
Authors: Grigoroglou Myrto , Papafragou Anna
Published: December 2017

To become competent communicators, children need to learn that what a speaker means often goes beyond the literal meaning of what the speaker says. The acquisition of pragmatics as a field is the study of how children learn to bridge the gap between the semantic meaning of words and structures and the intended meaning of an utterance. Of interest is whether young children are capable of reasoning about others’ intentions and how this ability develops over time.

For a long period, estimates of children’s pragmatic sophistication were mostly pessimistic: early work on a number of phenomena showed that very young communicators were egocentric, oblivious to other interlocutors’ intentions, and overall insensitive to subtle pragmatic aspects of interpretation. Recent years have seen major shifts in the study of children’s pragmatic development. Novel methods and more fine-grained theoretical approaches have led to a reconsideration of older findings on how children acquire pragmatics across a number of phenomena and have produced a wealth of new evidence and theories.

Three areas that have generated a considerable body of developmental work on pragmatics include reference (the relation between words or phrases and entities in the world), implicature (a type of inferred meaning that arises when a speaker violates conversational rules), and metaphor (a case of figurative language). Findings from these three domains suggest that children actively use pragmatic reasoning to delimit potential referents for newly encountered words, can take into account the perspective of a communicative partner, and are sensitive to some aspects of implicated and metaphorical meaning. Nevertheless, children’s success with pragmatic communication is fragile and task-dependent.
Second Language Phonetics
Authors: Bohn Ocke-Schwen
Published: December 2017

The study of second language phonetics is concerned with three broad and overlapping research areas: the characteristics of second language speech production and perception, the consequences of perceiving and producing nonnative speech sounds with a foreign accent, and the causes and factors that shape second language phonetics. Second language learners and bilinguals typically produce and perceive the sounds of a nonnative language in ways that are different from native speakers. These deviations from native norms can be attributed largely, but not exclusively, to the phonetic system of the native language. Non-nativelike speech perception and production may have both social consequences (e.g., stereotyping) and linguistic–communicative consequences (e.g., reduced intelligibility). Research on second language phonetics over the past ca. 30 years has resulted in a fairly good understanding of causes of nonnative speech production and perception, and these insights have to a large extent been driven by tests of the predictions of models of second language speech learning and of cross-language speech perception. It is generally accepted that the characteristics of second language speech are predominantly due to how second language learners map the sounds of the nonnative to the native language. This mapping cannot be entirely predicted from theoretical or acoustic comparisons of the sound systems of the languages involved, but has to be determined empirically through tests of perceptual assimilation. The most influential learner factors which shape how a second language is perceived and produced are the age of learning and the amount and quality of exposure to the second language. A very important and far-reaching finding from research on second language phonetics is that age effects are not due to neurological maturation which could result in the attrition of phonetic learning ability, but to the way phonetic categories develop as a function of experience with surrounding sound systems.
Asset Based Approaches for Community Engagement
Authors: Wyatt Katrina , Durie Robin , Thomas Felicity
Published: December 2017

This is an advance summary of a forthcoming article in the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Environmental Science. Please check back later for the full article.

The burden of ill health has shifted, globally, from communicable to non-communicable disease, with poor health clustering in areas of economic deprivation. However, for the most part, public health programs remain focused on changing behaviors associated with poor health (such as smoking or physical inactivity) rather than the contexts that give rise to, and influence, the wide range of behaviors associated with poor health. This way of understanding and responding to population ill health views poor health behavior as a defining “problem” exhibited by a particular group of individuals or a community, which needs to be solved by the intervention of expert practitioners. This sort of approach determines individuals and their communities in terms of deficits, and works on the basis of perceived needs within such communities when seeking to address public health issues.

Growing recognition that many of the fundamental determinants of health cannot be attributed solely to individuals, but result instead from the complex interplay between individuals and their social, economic, and cultural environments, has led to calls for new ways of delivering policies and programs aimed at improving health and reducing health inequalities. Such approaches include the incorporation of subjective perspectives and priorities to inform the creation of “health promoting societal contexts.” Alongside this, asset-based approaches to health creation place great emphasis on valuing the skills, knowledge, connections, and potential within a community and seek to identify the protective factors within a neighborhood or organization that support health and wellbeing.

Connecting Communities (C2) is a unique asset-based program aimed at creating the conditions for health and wellness within very low-income communities. At the heart of the program is the belief that health emerges from the patterns of relations within neighborhoods, rather than being a static attribute of individuals. C2 seeks to change the nature of the relations both within communities and with service providers (such as the police, housing, education, and health professionals) to co-create responses to issues that are identified by community members themselves. While many of the issues identified concern local environmental conditions, such as vandalism or safe out-door spaces, many are also contributory determinants of ill health. Listening to people, understanding the social, cultural, and environmental context within which they are located, and supporting new partnerships based on reciprocity and mutual benefit ensures that solutions are grounded in the local context and not externally determined, in turn resulting in sustainable health creating communities.