bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Evolving Patterns of Child Sex Ratio in India
Authors: Saha Shrestha , Paul Kalosona
Published: April 2017

The article focuses on the geographical dimension of child sex ratio (CSR) and its evolving pattern for the last 40 years (1981–2011). Using a spatial statistical approach, it has been possible to identify homogeneous groups of objects in the study area. The study considered the role of spatial proximity of cultural diffusion which spreads rapidly regardless of the position of groups within a social structure. In doing so, the article tried to conceptualise the role of region in shaping its gender. The study explained declining CSR through the process of two mechanisms: one, the regional pull, that is, a region exerts a force so as to cause a movement towards itself and the other, diffusion of knowledge and ideational changes. Finally, the study has tried to measure the effect of socio-economic variables on CSR through a regression model.
The Occupied City as a Sociological Laboratory: Developing and Applying Social Psychology in Warsaw 1939-1945
Authors: Cain Friedrich
Published: April 2017

The article explores the sociopsychological considerations made by Polish sociologist Stanisław Ossowski (1897-1963) during World War II in reaction to his specific experiences in Soviet-occupied Lwów and German-occupied Warsaw. Based on readings of Ossowski’s publications and so far unpublished archival material, the influences and practical consequences of permanently observed violations of ethical and moral boundaries in that “great sociological laboratory” of war and occupation shall be traced in the texts he wrote during that time. As a member of a group of engineers, town planners, and architects, Ossowski sketched various psycho- and sociotechnical means of controlling that should guarantee for a peaceful social existence of free individuals in a new Polish state. Particular attention will be directed to the specific difficulties of attaining, communicating, and distributing knowledge in the de facto doubled cities that developed along the lines of opposition between the occupying and the occupied.
Liberal Law-and-Order: The Politics of Police Reform in Los Angeles
Authors: Felker-Kantor Max
Published: April 2017

After his election in 1973, Los Angeles’s first African American mayor, Tom Bradley, worked to implement reforms that would increase civilian oversight and accountability of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). Ensuring procedural fairness that treated all residents equally, Bradley and other liberals believed, would lead to reductions in police harassment, abuse, and shootings. Placing their faith in the power of government to effectively manage the police allowed liberals to pledge both strong support for tough law enforcement and propose police reforms. This liberal law-and-order, however, did not result in similar police reforms, such as civilian review, pursued in other Democratic-run cities. No event demonstrated this limitation of Bradley’s liberal law-and-order approach to police reform as the Rodney King beating and the 1992 Los Angeles rebellion. Rather than demonstrating the failure of liberal reform, Los Angeles shows how liberal law-and-order facilitated the expansion of police authority after the 1960s.
Management Earnings Forecasts as a Performance Target in Executive Compensation Contracts
Authors: Otomasa Shota , Shiiba Atsushi , Shuto Akinobu
Published: April 2017

This article investigates whether and how Japanese firms use management earnings forecasts as a performance target for determining executive cash compensation. Consistent with the implications of the agency theory, we find that the sensitivity of executive cash compensation varies with the extent to which realized earnings exceed initial management forecasts. In particular, we find that the executive cash compensation is positively related to management forecast error ( MFE) for a sample of Japanese firms comprising 15,941 firm-year observations from 2005 to 2013. Moreover, we show that the relationship between executive cash compensation and MFE strengthens (weakens) when current realized earnings exceed (fall short of) aggressive initial forecasts. In additional analysis, we find that pay-for-performance sensitivity is weaker for extremely positive MFEs due to the ceiling on total cash compensation. Overall, we find that initial management forecasts can be used as a performance target in executive compensation contracts. These findings also suggest that management earnings forecasts are important for improving contract efficiency as well as for providing useful information to investors in the capital market.
Going Green—Turning Labor: A Qualitative Analysis of the Approaches of Union Officials Working with Environmental Issues in Sweden and the United Kingdom
Authors: Lundström Ragnar
Published: April 2017

What conditions shape the introduction of climate change issues into trade union organizations? This article analyzes life-history interviews with two union organization leaders working with climate issues—one in Sweden and one in the United Kingdom—discussing how their individual backgrounds, as well as the different organizational and national contexts in which they work, create different conditions and strategies for developing an environmental union agenda. The analysis discusses how the strategies of the Scandinavian leader focus on policy development, and compares this with how the U.K. union leader focuses primarily on the interests of, and conflicts with, members when integrating climate change in their respective organizations.
Kicking “No-Touch” Discourses Into Touch: Athletes’ Parents’ Constructions of Appropriate Coach–Child Athlete Physical Contact
Authors: Gleaves Thomas , Lang Melanie
Published: April 2017

It has been suggested that sport is increasingly becoming a “no-touch zone” as some coaches, driven by a desire for self-protection, restrict their use of physical contact with (child) athletes in the belief that this reduces their risk of being accused of abuse. Research on coach–athlete physical contact is limited, however, and no studies have yet explored how athletes’ parents understand such behaviors. This article reports on a study that investigates athletes’ parents’ perspectives of appropriate coach–child athlete physical contact within youth swimming. Parents constructed physical contact as necessary and legitimate in three specific contexts and drew on children’s rights principles to rationalize this. This article discusses the significance of this and explores the benefits of adopting child-centered coaching practices.
“Just an Excuse People Are Just Using These Days”: Attending to and Managing Interactional Concerns in Talk on Exclusion of Immigrants
Authors: Sambaraju Rahul , McVittie Chris , Goodall Karen , McKinlay Andy
Published: April 2017

In line with discursive work on the role of constructions of minority groups in social exclusion, we offer an examination of talk on immigrants and its links with employment of British residents, in the U.K. Parliament and interview talk with British residents looking for work, in the context of a financial crisis (2007-2009). Discursive analysis of data shows that parliamentarians treat immigration as problematic for British residents’ employment, whereas interviewees’ responses reject or minimally accept this, while displaying sensitivity to the status of this as a prevalent complaint about immigration. Parliamentarians do so to warrant and challenge or manage challenges to Government’s policies, whereas interviewees do so to manage being seen as discriminatory and work-shy. These findings show that constructions of immigration and its links with employment in the context of the financial crisis, and their use in warrants for exclusion are offered in ways to attend to the situated institutional and interactional relevancies in play for interlocutors.
Effect and placental transfer of dexmedetomidine during caesarean section under epidural anaesthesia
Authors: Wang Changsheng , Liu Shijiang , Han Chuanbao , Yu Min , Hu Youli , Liu Cunming
Published: April 2017

Objective

To investigate the neonatal effect and placental transfer of dexmedetomidine during caesarean section under epidural anaesthesia.

Methods

Forty parturients with a single newborn who were scheduled for caesarean section were enrolled. Patients received 0.5 µg/kg dexmedetomidine 10 min after epidural anaesthesia, followed by 0.5 µg/kg/h until abdominal closure (Dex group) or infusion of normal saline (NS group). Systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and heart rate (HR) were monitored before infusion (T0), 10 min after infusion (T1), at delivery (T2), and at the end of the operation (T3). Umbilical vein and artery blood was collected. Apgar scores were evaluated at 1 and 5 min after delivery.

Results

SBP, DBP, and HR in the Dex group were decreased at T3 compared with T0 (116 ± 10.4 vs 111 ± 9.2 mmHg, 74 ± 6.7 vs 66 ± 7.9 mmHg, 91 ± 12.1 vs 71 ± 8.4 beats/min, respectively, P < 0.05). HR was lower at T1, T2, and T3 in the Dex group compared with the NS group ( P < 0.05). There were no significant differences in blood gases and Apgar scores between the groups ( P > 0.05).

Conclusion

Dexmedetomidine during caesarean section under epidural anaesthesia is beneficial to parturients. The placental transfer rate is 0.68.
Modeling the viscoelastic compaction response of 3D woven fabrics for liquid composite molding processes
Authors: Khan Kamran A , Umer Rehan
Published: April 2017

In liquid composite molding processes, the compaction characterization of fibrous reinforcements plays a key role in determining the thickness, fiber volume content, and part shape. This study presents detailed experimental and modeling work to study the viscoelastic compaction response of three different types of 3D woven carbon fiber reinforcements, namely, orthogonal, angle interlock, and layer-to-layer, each having a different weave style and z-binder yarn pattern. For all reinforcements, single-step, multistep and cyclic compaction experiments were conducted. A nonlinear viscoelastic model is presented that accounts for large deformations and viscous effects, to capture the response of the material under various loading histories. Model verification is also presented to capture each response with separate sets of material parameters. Parametric studies are also performed to analyze the role of model parameters on the response of different types of loadings. X-ray computed tomography analysis showed significant permanent deformation of z-binder yarns through the thickness of the reinforcements. The comparison of modeling results with the experimental data show that the model is able to capture the stress decay after multiple compaction cycles, yet needs further investigations to predict complete cyclic hysteresis. However, model results agree reasonably well with the single and multistep compaction loading.
The Homecare Aide Workforce Initiative: Implementation and Outcomes
Authors: Feldman Penny H. , Ryvicker Miriam , Evans Lauren M. , Barrón Yolanda
Published: April 2017

Improved training and support are thought to improve retention among direct care workers. However, few studies have examined actual retention. This study examined satisfaction and retention among home health aides enrolled in the “Homecare Aide Workforce Initiative” (HAWI) at three New York agencies. Data included surveys of HAWI trainees and new hires and payroll data for HAWI graduates and others. Three months after hire, 91% of HAWI hires reported they were “very satisfied” or “satisfied” with the job; 57% reported they were “not at all likely” to leave their job in the coming year. At 365 days, 60% were still working. In logistic regression, the odds of being retained at 3, 6, and 12 months were significantly higher among HAWI graduates than non-HAWI new hires. Although not a randomized trial, the study demonstrates an association between participation in an innovative entry-level workforce program and superior 3-, 6-, and 12-month retention.
Akt1 Controls the Timing and Amplitude of Vascular Circadian Gene Expression
Authors: Luciano Amelia K. , Santana Jeans M. , Velazquez Heino , Sessa William C.
Published: April 2017

The AKT signaling pathway is important for circadian rhythms in mammals and flies ( Drosophila). However, AKT signaling in mammals is more complicated since there are 3 isoforms of AKT, each performing slightly different functions. Here we study the most ubiquitous AKT isoform, Akt1, and its role at the organismal level in the central and vascular peripheral clocks. Akt1–/– mice exhibit relatively normal behavioral rhythms with only minor differences in circadian gene expression in the liver and heart. However, circadian gene expression in the Akt1–/– aorta, compared with control aorta, follows a distinct pattern. In the Akt1–/– aorta, positive regulators of circadian transcription have lower amplitude rhythms and peak earlier in the day, and negative circadian regulators are expressed at higher amplitudes and peak later in the day. In endothelial cells, negative circadian regulators exhibit an increased amplitude of expression, while the positive circadian regulators are arrhythmic with a decreased amplitude of expression. This indicates that Akt1 conditions the normal circadian rhythm in the vasculature more so than in other peripheral tissues where other AKT isoforms or kinases might be important for daily rhythms.
Rotatory Conjunctival Flap for Pterygium Removal: A Simple and Quick Technique
Authors: Schwember Jorge , Madrid Luisa , Yori Luisella
Published: April 2017

Pterygium is a frequent conjunctival abnormality in outdoor workers. Genetic background factors are involved. In this study, the authors report their experience in utilizing a rotatory conjunctival flap (RCF) under local anesthesia. A retrospective analysis was conducted of all patients undergoing the proposed technique by one surgeon from 2010 to 2016. Preoperative and postoperative photographs at the longest follow-up visit were used for analysis. A total of 76 patients underwent RCF in an office setting. The average follow-up time was 9 months (range, 6 months to 4 years). All patients were satisfied with the result. One patient required a conjunctival granuloma excision. Additional advantages include the ease of operation, cost, conjunctival preservation for glaucoma filtering surgery, and a short execution time.
Synthesis and characterization of novel fluorinated pyridine-based polyimides derived from 4-(4-trifluoromethylphenyl)-2,6-bis(4-aminophenyl)pyridine and dianhydrides
Authors: Huang Shui-Xiu , Liu Xiao-Ling , Wei Mei-Hong , Huang Zhen-Zhong , Sheng Shou-Ri
Published: April 2017

A series of new fluorinated pyridine-based polyimides (PIs) was synthesized by polycondensation of 4-(4-trifluoromethylphenyl)-2,6-bis(4-aminophenyl)pyridine with various aromatic dianhydrides in N, N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc) via the conventional two-step method. The inherent viscosities of the resulting poly(amic acid)s and PIs were 0.54–0.94 and 0.58–0.88 dLg−1, respectively. The obtained PIs were predominantly amorphous and soluble in polar solvents such as N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, N, N-dimethylformamide, and DMAc at room temperature or upon heating at 70°C. They also displayed good thermal stability with the glass transition temperature of 324–416°C, the temperature at 5% weight loss of 546–584°C, and the residue of 58–69% at 750°C under nitrogen, as well as outstanding mechanical properties with tensile strengths of 69132 MPa, tensile moduli of 1.1–2.0 GPa, and elongations at break of 7–27%. Meanwhile, these PI films had dielectric constants of 2.95–3.22 (1 MHz), low water uptake 0.44–0.71%, and high optical transparency with the ultraviolet cutoff wavelength in the 388–406 nm range and the wavelength of 80% transparency in the range of 550–680 nm.
Effect of graphene nanoplatelets on the performance of polyphenylene sulfide composites produced by melt intercalation
Authors: Xing Jian , Deng Bingyao , Liu Qingsheng
Published: April 2017

Melt intercalation has typically been used to modify polymers with layered nanoparticles to obtain excellent performance. Polyphenylene sulfide (PPS)/graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) composites were manufactured by one-step melt intercalation under shearing force. The morphology, thermal properties, and mechanical properties of the PPS/GNPs composites were then studied in detail. Graphene oxide showed poor thermal stability compared with GNPs. The GNPs were well dispersed in the PPS matrix, with a slight aggregation. Furthermore, the addition of GNPs accelerated the crystallization of PPS and reduced the incomplete crystallization of PPS due to the heterogeneous nucleation of GNPs. The thermal stability of the PPS/GNPs composite showed a significant improvement because of the good thermal conductivity and mass transport barrier effect of GNPs. The temperature corresponding to the heat-resisting index ( THRI) of the PPS/GNPs composites was also significantly improved due to the addition of GNPs. When the content of GNPs was only 0.5 wt%, the tensile strength and tensile modulus of the PPS/GNPs composites significantly increased compared with pure PPS; this could be attributed to the heterogeneous nucleation of nanoplatelets and the interfacial interaction between PPS and GNPs. The dynamic mechanical analysis of the PPS/GNPs composites indicated that the storage modulus of the PPS polymer increased significantly due to the addition of GNPs.
A special feature of employment of Lagrange’s equations to the scleronomic mechanical systems
Authors: Zanevskyy Ihor , Zanevska Lyudmyla
Published: April 2017

The research aims to reduce the volume of mathematical manipulations during a derivation of Lagrange’s equations of scleronomic mechanical systems. Corresponding equations are derived using a direct substitution of the kinetic energy expression as homogenous quadratic function in Lagrange’s equations of a general form. The reduction of mathematical manipulations is obtained avoiding of a member, which appears firstly as positive and secondly as a negative expression. A half of nonzero terms can be omitted using this shape of Lagrange’s equations of the second type. Three examples of scleronomic systems support the idea of the research.
Compound disturbance rejection control of spark ignition–controlled-autoignition hybrid combustion for gasoline engines
Authors: Song Kang , Xie Hui , Hao Tianyuan
Published: April 2017

Spark ignition–controlled-autoignition hybrid combustion is a promising concept because of its capability to achieve a smooth transition between spark ignition combustion and controlled-autoignition combustion, but it suffers from transient control owing to the high sensitivity to the operating conditions. In this paper, a control solution based on the principle of disturbance rejection is proposed for spark ignition–controlled-autoignition hybrid combustion. The complexity, the non-linearity and the cross-coupling inside are removed by idealizing the combustion process into three independent integrators, for the combustion timing channel, the indicated mean effective pressure channel and the λ (excessive air coefficient) channel respectively. All the other dynamics that deviate from the integrators (internal and external) are ‘lumped’ together as the total disturbance for each channel. With the total disturbance estimated in real time via the extended-state observer and eliminated by the disturbance rejection law, the enforced plant, i.e. the integrator, is controlled by a simple proportional controller. To enhance the response further, a non-linear model-inversion-based feedforward controller is added. In order to attenuate the slow time-varying disturbances, four correction factors for the model parameters are embedded in the model for online estimation. Validations by both simulations and experiments confirm the superiority of the proposed solution in terms of a fast transient response and a high robustness. By using the bandwidth-parameterization-based extended-state observer tuning method and a Kalman-filter-based extended-state observer, the controller is easy to tune, making it a promising candidate for applications of spark ignition–controlled-autoignition hybrid combustion.
Mean-variance model for optimization of the timetable in urban rail transit systems
Authors: Yang Hui , Li Xiang , Yang Xin
Published: April 2017

Regenerative braking is an energy-efficient technology that converts kinetic energy to electrical energy during braking phases. For more efficient recovered energy utilization, the stochastic cooperative scheduling approach has been proposed for determining the dwell times at stations, wherein the accelerating trains can use the energy recovered from the adjacent braking trains as much as possible. Here, running times at the sections are considered as random variables with given probability functions. In this paper, the authors develop a data-driven stochastic cooperative scheduling approach in which the real data of the speed of trains are recorded and used in the place of motion equations. First, the authors formulate a stochastic mean-variance model, which maximizes the expected utilization and minimizes the variance of the quantity of the recovered energy. Second, a genetic algorithm that utilizes particle swarm optimization has been designed to find the optimal dwell times at stations. Finally, numerical examples are presented based on the real-life operational data from Beijing Yizhuang urban rail transit line in China. The results illustrate that the real-life operational data in the data-driven stochastic cooperative scheduling approach can provide a more accurate description about the movement of trains, which would result in more efficient energy saving, i.e. by 1.66%, in comparison with the stochastic cooperative scheduling approach. Most importantly, the data-driven stochastic cooperative scheduling approach results in lower variance by 68.69% and higher robustness.
‘. . . if you bring the kit home, you [can] get time and test together with your partner’: Pregnant women and male partners’ perceptions regarding female partner-delivered HIV self-testing in Uganda – A qualitative study
Authors: Matovu Joseph KB , Buregyeya Esther , Arinaitwe Jim , Wanyenze Rhoda K
Published: April 2017

In 2015, the World Health Organization reported that more than 60 million people were tested for HIV in 122 low- and middle-income countries between 2010 and 2014. Despite this level of progress, over 40% of people living with HIV remain unaware of their HIV status. This calls for innovative approaches to improve uptake of HIV testing services, including use of HIV self-test (HIVST) kits. We conducted a cross-sectional, qualitative study to assess pregnant women and their male partners’ perceptions regarding female partner-delivered HIVST kits. This study was conducted at two health facilities in Central Uganda between November and December 2015. Data were collected on pregnant women’s willingness to take HIVST kits to their male partners and other household members using eight focus group discussions and 30 in-depth interviews. Data were analyzed following a thematic framework approach. Overall, pregnant women were willing to take HIVST kits to their partners and other household members, with the exception of their cowives. Male partners were willing to use HIVST kits brought by their female partners. Our findings suggest that secondary distribution of HIVST kits through female partners is acceptable and has the potential to improve male partner and household-member HIV testing.
Legal context of high level radioactive waste disposal in China and its further improvement
Authors: Gan Luxi , Yang Shudong
Published: April 2017

Nuclear Energy is the key solution for China to address its efforts on Climate change. However, the current nuclear energy technology also brings the corresponding high radioactive waste. How to dispose this kind of dangerous material in an appropriate way has become a critical issue for this country. This article attempts to analyse the current legal context of high radioactive waste disposal in China and explores the potential further improvement options concerning this topic.
Eurometropolis Lille–Kortrijk–Tournai: Cross-border integration with or without the border?
Authors: Durand Frédéric , Perrin Thomas
Published: April 2017

For 30 years, the opening of internal borders in the European Union has engendered many cross-border exchanges in borderlands. European cross-border regions created within this context are thus framed and characterized by the simultaneous dynamics of bordering and cross-border integration. This paper examines these two processes and the analysis is based on the representations of stakeholders from the Eurometropolis of Lille–Kortrijk–Tournai. It highlights two main results. First, the representations of stakeholders shed light on bordering dynamics that can be combined even though they can also appear to be contradictory. In particular, the paper unveils the dimension of ‘a-bordering’, which refers to a certain status quo of and about the border. Second, the representations of stakeholders show ambivalent and concomitant visions of a ‘cross-border integration with the border’ and a ‘cross-border integration without the border’. These representations challenge the implementation of cross-border policies and schemes.
Market Orientation in a Digital World
Authors: Kohli Ajay K.
Published: April 2017

The concept of market orientation was introduced in the early 1990s as entailing three sets of activities: generation, dissemination and responsiveness to market intelligence. Since then the World Wide Web has ushered in a sea change in the way people communicate and interact. This article explores the impact of the still-developing digital technologies on market orientation. In particular, it examines how the practice of each of the three components of market orientation is being impacted by digital technologies, and whether market orientation continues to be important for business organizations. The discussion identifies opportunities presented by digital technologies as well as difficulties generated by them.
A routine transition in the digital era? The rise of routine work in Central and Eastern Europe
Authors: Keister Roma , Lewandowski Piotr
Published: April 2017

In this article, we study the shift from manual to cognitive work in 10 Central and Eastern European economies. While highlighting the growth in the non-routine cognitive component of jobs, we pay particular attention to the increase in routine cognitive tasks, a trend distinguishing Central and Eastern European economies from the most advanced economies. We find that in all countries routine cognitive tasks were most common in the middle of wage distribution, but increasingly rare among the top earners. We identify two groups of workers whose jobs depend most on performing routine cognitive tasks: medium-skilled men in the manufacturing sectors and medium-skilled women in the service sectors, who jointly represent 33 per cent of Central and Eastern European workers. Should technological progress reduce demand for routine work in Central and Eastern Europe, a large proportion of workers would be affected and wage inequality would rise. We conclude with the policy implications of our findings.
Adenocarcinoma Ex–Goblet Cell Carcinoid of the Appendix With Metastatic Peritoneal Spread to Meckel’s Diverticulum and Endometriosis
Authors: Lowenthal Brett Matthew , Lin Grace Y. , Tipps Ann M. Ponsford , Hosseini Mojgan
Published: April 2017

Adenocarcinoma ex–goblet cell carcinoid is a very rare and histologically unique appendiceal malignancy with dual glandular and neuroendocrine differentiation. There is a high incidence of this tumor among middle-aged women with metastasis to the gynecologic tract with the mode of metastasis following peritoneal spread rather than hematogenous distribution. Adenocarcinoma ex-goblet cell carcinoid can spread to any peritoneal site including ovaries or omentum. We report a 37-year-old healthy woman who initially presented with right lower quadrant abdominal pain and pseudomyxoma peritonei. Histopathology of the appendectomy specimen revealed an adenocarcinoma ex-goblet cell carcinoid, signet ring cell type. Follow-up right hemicolectomy, omentectomy, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, and regional peritoneal resections revealed metastatic involvement by adenocarcinoma ex–goblet cell carcinoid, signet ring cell type. In this report, we describe a case of appendiceal adenocarcinoma ex goblet cell carcinoid with metastases to Meckel’s diverticulum and areas of pelvic endometriosis, which have not been previously reported.
Illuminating the Interconnections of Sexuality, Aging, and Spirituality in the Lives of Older Lesbian, Bisexual, and Queer Women in the Southern Bible Belt
Authors: Dunnavant Bridget R. , Berbary Lisbeth A. , Flanagan Ashley K.
Published: April 2017

Although a recent surge in the literature has begun to address the existence and needs of the growing population of lesbian, bisexual, and queer (LBQ) older women, there is little established research that has examined their contextualized lived experiences. This absence of information about what aging is like for LBQ women in the current socioreligious climate can lead to misperceptions being perpetuated about the possible interconnections/disconnections among sexual orientation, spirituality, and aging. Therefore, based on the need to deconstruct these misconceptions and present counternarratives to dominant discourses, the following composite ethno-screenplay scenes, restoried from life story interviews, contextualize and illuminate understandings of the experiences of aging, sexuality, and spirituality in the lives of LBQ-identified women in the Southern Bible belt.
Mothering Rodney in 1971: An Autoethnography of the Life and Death of My Baby Born With Severe Congenital Heart Defects
Authors: Middlewood Sue , Luxford Yoni , Crawford Frances
Published: April 2017

Rodney lived for 14 weeks in 1971. He was my second child. My other two children died of unrelated causes in 1983 and 2005. This autoethnographical account explores my experience of mothering a baby with severe congenital heart defects in the Australian culture of the 1970s. Looking back, I gain an understanding of how my still painful experience was shaped by the times. Silenced by the social and cultural practices of the day, mothering and losing Rodney was a bewildering and painful journey. Writing as method allows me to find my voice, by exploring the darkest part of my life and reconnecting with my mother self and mother-love for Rodney.
Wave transmission characteristics for higher-order sandwich panel with flexible core using time-domain spectral element method
Authors: Raja Sekhar B , Gopalakrishnan S , Murthy MVVS
Published: April 2017

A new time-domain spectral element with nine degrees of freedom per node is formulated based on higher-order sandwich panel theory, incorporating the flexible behaviour of the core with composite face sheets. Static, free vibrations and wave propagation analysis are carried out using the formulated element. Results obtained using this element are compared with those available in the literature and with commercial finite element codes. The fast convergence of the spectral element method is demonstrated by solving the high-frequency wave propagation problem. A method of computing the wave characteristics, namely wavenumbers and group velocities, in a higher-order sandwich panel is developed using the formulated element. The effect of core damping is studied in detail with different core types, which can be used effectively in sandwich beam design.
Theoretical model of low-velocity impact on foam-core sandwich panels using finite difference method
Authors: Feli Saeed , M Jalilian Maziar
Published: April 2017

In this article, a three-dimensional solution based on the Fourier’s series and finite difference method has been presented to study the low-velocity impact on sandwich panels with foam core and composite face sheets. The Navier’s equations are derived and displacements are substituted by their corresponding Fourier’s series and three partial differential equations with coefficients of Fourier’s series are obtained. The contact force has been considered as a Fourier’s series of impactor displacement and deflection of top face sheet. Also, the model is verified by experiments performed on sandwich panel with epoxy/woven-fiberglass composites, face sheets and polyurethane foam core, and other researchers’ works. The history of contact forces and lateral displacement of contact point has been obtained experimentally and compared with theoretical model. Finally, the effects of impact energy and geometrical parameters including in-plane dimension ratio, core thickness, and face sheet thickness on contact force and lateral deflection histories have been investigated.
The social-democratic roots of global governance: Welfare internationalism from the 19th century to the United Nations
Authors: Steffek Jens , Holthaus Leonie
Published: April 2017

Welfare internationalism was and still is one of the most powerful justifications for establishing international organizations. It suggests that public international organizations should cater to the material needs of individuals, rather than solve conflicts among states. In this article, we trace the origins of welfare internationalism, challenging the dominant narrative that depicts it as a projection of the British welfare state or the American New Deal to the globe. We show that welfare internationalism emerged earlier and combined ideational elements of very different origins. Notions of professional colonial administration migrated to the international context and dovetailed with a cosmopolitan interpretation of 19th-century public unions as caretakers of citizen interests. Reform socialist approaches to the social question inspired domestic and international developments simultaneously, leading to the foundation of the International Labour Organization, which became a crucial venue for the promulgation of welfare internationalism. We thus document how international theorists and practitioners of the early 20th century established a new perspective on international affairs, emanating from individuals and their needs. That perspective came to rival the traditional conception of international politics as intergovernmentalism and delivered important building blocks for the (self-)legitimation of the League of Nations and the United Nations.
Telerehabilitation after arthroscopic subacromial decompression is effective and not inferior to standard practice: Preliminary results
Authors: Pastora-Bernal Jose M , Martín-Valero Rocío , Barón-López Francisco J , Moyano Noelia G , Estebanez-Pérez María-José
Published: April 2017

Background

Telerehabilitation promises to improve quality, increase patient access and reduce costs in health care. Physiotherapy with exercises is generally recommended to restore function after surgery in patients with chronic subacromial syndrome. Relatively few studies have investigated the feasibility of telerehabilitation interventions in musculoskeletal and orthopaedic disorders. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of a customizable telerehabilitation intervention and compare with traditional care.

Methods

This research includes 18 consecutive patients with subacromial impingement who underwent arthroscopic subacromial decompression in a controlled clinical prospective study. Patients were randomized to either a 12-week telerehabilitation programme or the usual face-to-face physical therapy for immediate postoperative rehabilitation. We have developed a telerehabilitation system to provide services to patients who have undergone shoulder arthroscopy. An independent blinded observer performed postoperative follow-up after 4, 8, and 12 weeks.

Results

The preliminary efficacy of this telerehabilitation programme in terms of both physical and functional objective outcome measures was assessed on eight patients. Using the Constant–Murley score to evaluate functional outcome, patients in the telerehabilitation group were shown to have improved from a mean 43.50 ± 3.21 points to a mean 68.50 ± 0.86 points after 12 weeks. The physical and functional improvements in the telerehabilitation group were similar to those in the control group ( p = 0.213). There was a non-significant trend for greater improvements in the telerehabilitation group for most outcome measurements.

Conclusion

The results of this study provide evidence for the efficacy of telerehabilitation after shoulder arthroscopy in shoulder impingement syndrome. A telerehabilitation programme with range of motion, strengthening of the rotator cuff and scapula stabilizers exercises seems to be similar and not inferior to traditional face-to-face physiotherapy after subacromial arthroscopic decompression. Through this study, we are developing our preliminary dataset to evaluate the efficacy of telerehabilitation programmes following surgical procedures in musculoskeletal injuries and for comparison with more traditional interventions.
‘The dots just don’t join up’: Understanding the support needs of families of children on the autism spectrum
Authors: Galpin James , Barratt Penny , Ashcroft Edward , Greathead Scot , Kenny Lorcan , Pellicano Elizabeth
Published: April 2017

Much research has documented the elevated levels of stress experienced by families of autistic children. Yet remarkably little research has examined the types of support that these families perceive to be beneficial to their lives. This study, co-produced by researchers and school-based professionals, sought to establish these families’ support needs from their own perspectives. In total, 139 parents of autistic children with additional intellectual disabilities and limited spoken communication, all attending an inner-city London school, participated in an initial survey examining parental wellbeing, self-efficacy and the extent to which they felt supported. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a subgroup of parents ( n = 17), some of whom reported in the survey that they felt unsupported, in order to gain their in-depth perspectives. The results from both the survey and the interviews suggested that existing support (particularly from formal support services) was not meeting parents’ needs, which ultimately made them feel isolated and alienated. Parents who were interviewed called for service provision that adopted a relational, family-centred approach – one that understands the specific needs of the whole family, builds a close working relationship with them and ensures that they are supported at times when the parents and families feel they need it most.
A screwball property: Love It or List It as postfeminist realty TV
Authors: Bruce Jean M
Published: April 2017

This article argues that the property television programme, Love It or List It (2008–), employs conventions from the classic screwball comedy to both consolidate its position within the lucrative realty TV market – especially in response to the recent (2008) recession – and negotiate modern gender dynamics within the home. Its Depression-era (1930s) financial and aesthetic resonances are not incidental. And, as with much contemporary culture, this modern iteration of the screwball comedy is not discretely contained by medium or genre of influence: Love It or List It also borrows flourishes from documentary, tabloid TV, melodrama and the gothic novel. In keeping with its reference to a kind of baseball pitching style that is difficult for hitters to anticipate, the screwball’s tendency to suddenly switch course has been identified as its central means for engaging in cultural critique. Love It or List It as an exemplar of reality TV’s recombinant style is still very much like its cinematic predecessor: it has the adeptness to say many things to many audiences. This article makes no claims for Love It or List It’s progressive politics; rather, as with some classic screwball comedies, it explores the possibility that equivocating, shifting course or otherwise abandoning narrative logic register a profound ambivalence about marriage, coupledom and the family home as sacrosanct loci of modern life.
The death penalty and homicide deterrence in Japan
Authors: Muramatsu Kanji , Johnson David T , Yano Koiti
Published: April 2017

Japanese officials commonly claim that their country retains and uses capital punishment because it deters homicide. Although this claim is contested, few empirical studies have been done to assess the empirical reality. This paper uses data not previously available (monthly homicide statistics obtained from Japan’s National Police Agency) to examine whether Japan’s death penalty deters homicide or robbery-homicide. Using vector autoregression models, it concludes that neither death sentences nor executions deter homicide or robbery-homicide.
The neighborhood school stigma: School choice, stratification, and shame
Authors: McWilliams Julia Ann
Published: April 2017

Social scientists have begun to document the stratifying effects of over a decade of unprecedented charter growth in urban districts. An exodus of students from traditional neighborhood schools to charter schools has attended this growth, creating troubling numbers of vacant seats in neighborhood schools as well as concentrating larger percentages of high-need student populations like special education students and English Language Learners in these schools ( Buras, 2014 ; Gabor, 2014 ; Knefel, 2014 ). In cities like Philadelphia, the maintenance of two parallel educational systems – one charter, the other district – has also strained budgets and contributed to fiscal crises that have further divested traditional district schools of critical resources (Popp, 2014). How are youth, teachers, and staff in neighborhood schools responding to these conditions and the moral associations that the “neighborhood school” has come to invoke within an expanding educational marketplace? What does it mean to attend and/or work in a traditional neighborhood school in the midst of the dramatic restructuring of urban public education? Using frameworks developed in anthropological and sociological studies of social stigma, I explore in this paper how the power of market stratification has come to influence the intensification of institutional stigmas around the traditional neighborhood school ( Anyon, 1980 ; Goffman, 1963 ; Link and Phelan, 2001 ). Drawing on ethnographic data from a neighborhood school in Philadelphia, I center youth perspectives on their aspirations and life chances given their status as students in a non-selective neighborhood school in my analysis. I ultimately interrogate how notions of race, educational quality, and [lack of] school choice, impact this neighborhood school community’s sense of worth and future as individuals as well as an institution.
The Transformational Learning Journey of a Novice ESL Teacher of Low-Literate Adults
Authors: DeCapua Andrea , Marshall Helaine W. , Frydland Nan
Published: April 2017

This article reports on one teacher’s journey, Nan’s, as she struggled to provide appropriate instruction to low-literate day laborers in an English as a second language (ESL) class for adult learners. In her efforts to do so, Nan became inspired to implement alternative pedagogy based on a culturally responsive approach that resonated strongly with her professed educational and social justice beliefs. As researcher-practitioners, we were interested in exploring Nan’s transformational journey during her graduate studies. The culturally responsive approach she was studying and attempting to implement is itself transformative in nature, providing an excellent opportunity to examine transformational learning both in the context of a novice ESL teacher and in the implementation of this approach. This case study provides important insights into how transformational learning theory sheds light on the struggles of one woman to achieve her twin goals of reaching a marginalized group of learners she cared deeply about and earning her master’s degree in Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages.
Biomechanically influenced mobile and participatory pedestrian data for bridge monitoring
Authors: Ozer Ekin , Feng Maria Q
Published: April 2017

Future structural health monitoring systems are evolving toward crowdsourced, autonomous, sustainable forms based on which damage-indicative structural features can be identified. Unlike conventional sensor systems, they serve as non-stationary, mobile, and distributed sensor network components. For example, smartphone sensors carried by pedestrians decouple from the structure of interest, making it difficult to measure structural vibration. Taking bridges as instances, smartphone sensor data contain not only the bridge vibration but also the pedestrians’ biomechanical features. In this article, pedestrians’ smartphone data are used to conduct force estimation and modal identification for structural health monitoring purposes. Two major pedestrian activities, walking and standing, are adopted to estimate walk-induced forces on structures and identify modal parameters, respectively. First, vibration time history of a walking pedestrian combined with pedestrian weight is a measure of dynamic forces imposed on the structure. Second, standing pedestrian’s smartphone sensors provide spectral peaks which are mixtures of structural and biomechanical vibrations. Eliminating biomechanical content reveals structural modal properties which are sensitive to structural integrity. This study presents the first structural health monitoring application recruiting pedestrians in a testbed bridge monitoring example. Orchestrating pervasive and participatory pedestrian data might bring new frontiers to structural health monitoring through a smart, mobile, and urban sensing framework.
A simple efficient anchor-free node localization algorithm for wireless sensor networks
Authors: Du Tao , Qu Shouning , Guo Qingbei , Zhu Lianjiang
Published: April 2017

In wireless sensor networks, node localization is the first operation after deployment, and the efficiency of localization can directly influence the performance of the wireless sensor network, so designing an efficient localization algorithm has been an important focus in wireless sensor network research. Currently, anchor-free algorithms are the focus of research in node localization because they have the advantages of flexible structure, low cost, high stability and good extensibility. In this article, related research studies of unique localization-, angle- and distance-obtaining methods are introduced, and existing algorithms are analysed. Based on the analysis of existing research, an anchor-free localization algorithm named ladder diffusion node localization algorithm is proposed, in which sensor nodes are located by directional diffused activation and acknowledgement packets with fixed energy. In ladder diffusion node localization algorithm, the time cost of localization is greatly reduced, the communication tasks in localization are allocated in a more balanced manner, and node locations are obtained mainly by rigorous computation instead of measurement, which can reduce transmission measurement error. Finally, the performance of ladder diffusion node localization algorithm is proved both in theory and by the simulation results of experiments.