bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Accusative and Ergative in Hindi
Authors: Mahajan Anoop
Published: August 2017

This chapter examines the nature of case licensing of the direct object in ergative constructions in Hindi, a split ergative language. Split ergativity in Hindi is conditioned by aspect – perfective transitive constructions display ergative case marking while non-perfective clauses do not. The chapter argues that in Hindi the morphologically bare direct object in an ergative construction is case licensed by T(ense) and not by little v as argued recently by Legate (2008) and others. The evidence for this proposal comes from examining the syntax of perfective and imperfective prenominal relative clauses, an empirical domain in Hindi that has not been previously examined from the perspective of case licensing. The restrictions found on what arguments can be relativized in prenominal relative clauses provide crucial evidence for the nature of case licensing in Hindi participial clauses and that evidence in turn bears upon the nature of object case licensing in ergative constructions.
Ergative–Absolutive Patterns in Tongan: An Overview
Authors: Otsuka Yuko
Published: August 2017

Tongan (Polynesian) shows ergative-absolutive (ERG-ABS) patterns in morphology as well as syntax, but the ERG-ABS pattern is not consistent throughout the language. Noun morphology shows a split between clitic pronouns and other types of nouns. In syntax, three phenomena show an ERG-ABS contrast: (a) relativization using the gap strategy is limited to ABS and ERG-relatives require resumption; (b) coordinate reduction applies only if the gap and the antecedent are in the same case, be it ABS or ERG; and (c) only ABS, but not ERG, can serve as the antecedent of the null SE anaphor. No single factor can account for all three of these phenomena and at least two of the three patterns are shown to be better viewed as PF-phenomena. The data suggest that syntactic ergativity should be understood as a construction-specific phenomenon rather than a language-specific property.
Alignment across Tsimshianic
Authors: Peterson Tyler
Published: August 2017

The Tsimshianic languages are entirely morphologically ergative in the agreement system. While there is a split in Tsimshianic, conditioned by both clause type and a person hierarchy, the other side of the split is not the expected nominative-accusative alignment. Rather, other logical groupings of semantic roles are found that are still ergative. This chapter presents a description of the agreement patterns across Tsimshianic, with the aim of explaining these expansions of ergativity, by undertaking a comparative analysis of the individual languages in the Tsimshianic family. This is analysis is extended to the connectives, which are complex, determiner-like morphemes that appear to be sensitive to the semantic role of the NP. This leads to four distinct alignments (nominative, ergative, neutral, and contrastive). An understanding of the alignments in the agreement system can shed light on this complexity, and a comparative analysis eliminates the multiple alignments in the connective system, thus revealing a fairly standard set of determiners.
What being a Syntactically Ergative Language means for Katukina-Kanamari
Authors: Queixalós Francesc
Published: August 2017

The structure of the basic clause in Katukina-Kanamari is, to a significant extent, conditioned by the internal structure of the verb phrase, which is starkly parallel to that of noun and adposition phrases. Depending on its internal make up, the verb phrase generates, for the same verbs, two patterns of transitive clauses, ergative and accusative, neither of which is synchronically derived from the other, but the latter appears as highly restricted in distribution. It also yields two patterns of intransitive clauses, one primary, the other resulting from an intransitivizing voice process. Since the basic transitive clause shows a clear syntactic hierarchy between its two arguments, intransitivizing voice is seen as of primary formal motivation: promoting the agent participant to subject status, a far more central need in this language than the functional motivation for relegating the patient participant to either adjunct status or no expression at all.
Ergativeneednot Split: An Exploration into theTotalErgHypothesis
Authors: Laka Itziar
Published: August 2017

This chapter presents an account of Basque behar ‘need’ within the TotalErg hypothesis that holds that Ergative case is inherent and Ergativity does not split. Predicates like behar ‘need’ appear to display a split in subject case assignment, and have been argued to provide crucial evidence against the tenants of TotalErg (Rezac, Albizu and Etxepare 2014) and in favor of a structural assignment of ergative case by Tense. I argue that these predicates are best accounted for as nominals, following Etxepare and Uribe-Etxebarria (2012) and Harves and Kayne (2012), and not as raising modals, as argued by Rezac et al (2014). The account in this chapter yields a uniform derivation for all instances of behar, independently of the type of complement the predicate takes and it allows us to do away with raising-to-ergative, predicted not to exist by the TotalErg approach, following the original claim in Marantz (2000).
Palestine
Authors: Taha Ibrahim
Published: August 2017

This chapter discusses the beginnings of the novelistic tradition in Palestine. It first provides a brief historical overview of the Palestinian novel before discussing the three major spaces into which Palestinian literature in general is divided: inside Israel, in the Occupied Territories (the West Bank and the Gaza Strip) since 1967, and in the Diaspora. It then considers the works of Palestinian writers in Israel that focus on the Intifada, including Zakī Darwīsh and Tawfīq Mu‘ammar, along with Palestinian novels written in the Diaspora by authors such as Jabrā Ibrahīm Jabrā and Ghassān Kanafānī. It shows that all three spaces of the Palestinian novel share some major themes related to national identity, political rights, and the tension between people and communities, on the one hand, and regimes and political authorities, on the other.
Sudan and South Sudan
Authors: Luffin Xavier
Published: August 2017

This chapter examines the development of the novel genre in Sudan and South Sudan. After discussing the beginnings of the Sudanese novel up to the early 1990s, it considers works that tackle the social and political difficulties facing the country, mainly marginality and despotism. The chapter then turns to novels that highlight the importance of a hybrid identity in Sudan, or what is called Afro-Arabism, along with novels that focus on the issues of dictatorship and the civil war. It also explores the theme of migration, some important Sudanese historical novels, and works by women writers. Finally, it looks at novels that avoid topics related to sociopolitical issues, as well as novels written in English.
Tunisia
Authors: Mamelouk Douja
Published: August 2017

This chapter focuses on the development of the novel genre in Tunisia. In 1881, Tunisia was transferred from Ottoman rule to French Protectorate, with important implications for the country linguistically and culturally. The difficulties of publishing and the development of nationalism under colonial rule influenced linguistic choices as well as the themes of the novels produced. In the post-independence era, nationalism, secularism, women’s rights, and patriotism became the themes of Tunisian literature in both Arabic and French. Censorship continued to be an issue for writers. This chapter examines the beginnings of the Arabic novel in Tunisia and considers works by Arabophone women writers. Finally, it looks at a number of Francophone novels, as well as novels published after the 2011 revolution.
Argentina and Hispano-America
Authors: Civantos Christina E.
Published: August 2017

This chapter examines the main trends and themes found across the novels of the Hispano-American mahjar (place of exile and immigrant life), with particular emphasis on Argentina. It considers the Arab Hispano-American novel in the context of the local, national, and regional cultural spaces that the authors or their families left behind, as well as the ones they now inhabit. It analyzes Arabic-language novels and proto-novels (most of which fit within so-called “exile literature”) and Spanish-language novels produced by Arab immigrants to Argentina during the first half of the twentieth century. It also discusses works published in the latter half of the twentieth century across Hispano-America. Hispanic mahjar novels that tackle the theme of spirituality as a means to make sense of migration; the issue of language used by writers to tell the story of the Arab immigrant experience; and Arab heritage as a source of narrative creativity.
Brazil
Authors: Hassan Waïl S.
Published: August 2017

This chapter examines the development of the Arabic novel in Brazil. Arab immigrants who went to Brazil to work as peddlers were labeled turcos, a term that has given rise to the most enduring stereotype of Arabs in Brazil. After discussing the beginnings of Arab immigration in Brazil and the rest of the American hemisphere, the chapter considers some of the novels written in Arabic by immigrants in Brazil. Next, it discusses Lusophone Arab Brazilian novelists who have written about Arab immigration or ethnicity. Their novels can be roughly divided into three groups: works by immigrants’ children that depict the immigrant experience, often nostalgically; works that analyze the conflicts of immigrants’ children as they integrate themselves into Brazilian society; and works that enact a countermovement toward Arab culture on the part of third-generation Arab Brazilians.
France
Authors: Reeck Laura
Published: August 2017

This chapter examines and contextualizes important cornerstones of the Arab Diasporic novel in France. Eighteenth- and nineteenth-century French fascination with the Arabic language and civilizations of the Mashriq was part and parcel of Orientalism. As French writers and intellectuals traveled to the Mashriq, in Egypt the Nahḍa movement in its cultural and literary dimensions drew inspiration from French literature. The chapter first considers the historical and institutional forces that created and influenced the Arab Diasporic novel in France before turning to early Francophone novels. Three categories of writers are discussed: Maghribi Francophone writers who either lived extensively or settled permanently in France in the 1950s–1970s; bilingual and multicultural novelists of exile from Egypt and Lebanon; and second-generation Maghribi writers whose writing appeared in the 1980s.
Italy
Authors: Burns Jennifer
Published: August 2017

This chapter focuses on the development of the Italian novel identified with the Arab Diaspora. Literature in Italian by Arab writers is associated with the large-scale immigration from outside the European Union that the country began to experience in the late 1970s. As distinct from the traditions of Anglophone and Francophone literature, the notion of Italophone literature has acquired little currency, despite the focus of the definition of “migration literature in Italian” on the common language of writing. This chapter explores the reasons for this, and looks at the works of some Maghrebi and Middle Eastern male writers who have successfully explored the novel as a form in recent Italian literature. It also considers the role of language as a point of entry of Arabic culture into the Italian novel, along with the distinctive contribution of novels by Arab women writers.
The Netherlands
Authors: Louwerse Henriette
Published: August 2017

This chapter examines the development of Arab Dutch writing in The Netherlands over the past two decades, dating back to the presentation of the first Dutch poet of Moroccan descent, Mustafa Stitou, in 1994. It begins with an overview of Dutch multiculturalism, noting how The Netherlands became a multicultural society not only in its demographic makeup, but also in its sociocultural philosophy and public policies. It then considers a selection of Arab Dutch and one Arab Flemish (Belgian) novels that offer insights into the identity struggle of immigrants and Moroccan Dutch youth and works that tackle cultural fragmentation, boundaries, and strictures.
Situating Technology within and without Music Education
Authors: Pignato Joseph
Published: August 2017

This chapter addresses two overarching questions: “Where is technology within music education?” and “Who is affected and how?” In considering those questions, I attempt to situate technology within and without music education, that is to say, internal to and external to the paradigmatic constraints of institutionalized learning. In the process, I argue for the development of authentically poietic spaces, or communities of response, within music education contexts. Further, I recommend situating technology within those spaces in such ways as to empower otherwise vulnerable young musicians to explore their own interests, idiosyncratic ways of learning, and the deterritorialized, subjective-social worlds they inhabit. The first section of the chapter addresses the particularized nature of technology within music education contexts. The second section includes examples of technology without music education. The final section lists conclusions that attempt to situate technology in and across those two broad domains.
Considering Music Technology and Literacy
Authors: Dorfman Jay
Published: August 2017

This chapter discusses how music literacy might be reimagined or interpreted within the context of music technology. While a multitude of entry points for music exist, the music literacy that people develop can be equally legitimate regardless of the point they choose. The chapter also discusses music teachers’ roles as facilitators of literacy development.
Augmenting Music Teaching and Learning with Technology and Digital Media
Authors: Tobias Evan
Published: August 2017

This chapter address how technology enables people to augment aspects of, blur boundaries between, and connect across musical experiences in ways that might expand conceptions of musicality, musicianship, and who might be considered a musician. The chapter proposes three such approaches to leveraging technology: augmenting music and musical engagement, augmenting musical sharing and concert experiences, and augmenting performing and ensembles. These three approaches to augmenting music teaching and learning through technology and digital media have potential to expand how music educators and their students conceptualize and enact musicianship. The chapter forwards a perspective that leveraging technology and digital media to augment music and musical engagement situates the act of connecting and identifying musical relationships as a form of musicianship and way of being a musician.
New Perspectives On the Role of the Heart in Positive Emotions, Intuition, and Social Coherence
Authors: McCraty Rollin , Rees Robert A.
Published: August 2017

Scientific research has established the existence of complex, highly sophisticated neural pathways that connect the human heart and brain, confirming that the activity of the heart directly influences the activity of higher brain centers involved in perceptual and cognitive processing and in the creation of emotional experience. This chapter examines research that has found that different emotions are reflected in state-specific patterns in the heart’s rhythms. Recent work has demonstrated a 75% accuracy in the detection of discrete emotional states from the heart rate variability (HRV) signal. As people experience sincere positive feelings, the more ordered information flowing from the heart to the brain facilitates cortical function and improves cognitive performance. These findings may help explain the significant shifts in broadened perception, increased mental clarity, and heightened intuitive awareness reported by many individuals when practicing heart-centered, positive emotion–refocusing and restructuring techniques.
Immunities and Monasticism
Authors: Phillips Joshua
Published: August 2017

Over the course of the sixteenth century, numerous playwrights composed plays about King John of England (r. 1199–1216). While representing the king’s failed attempt to assert national sovereignty over papal control, the plays explore an even more subtle problem: the legal threat that monastic immunity poses to papal and monarchical power. The chapter examines how plays written by John Bale, George Peele, and William Shakespeare used their representations of King John to attend, in a post-Reformation context, to the legal complexities of monasticism as a social practice. In articulating the difficulties that communal formations and monasticism as a social practice create for post-Reformation politics and law, sixteenth-century dramatists—this chapter argues—shape a new version of legal history.
Base Slavery and Roman Yoke
Authors: Nyquist Mary
Published: August 2017

Unlike ‘race’, with which ‘slavery’ is often associated in today’s society, early modern language relating to servitude is under-investigated. Using Shakespeare’s dramatic works as its primary archive, this chapter explores two forms of extra-legal slavery which, it is argued, facilitate discursive exchange between intra-European or intra-British modes of degradation and those employed in Anglo-colonialism. It begins with a study of ‘slave’ as a status-based pejorative that can be differentiated from ‘villain’ and ‘peasant’, and understood in connection with the Vagrancy Act of 1547, which introduced a form of penal ‘slavery’. The second extra-legal form of slavery, war slavery, is explored as part of the dramatic action of Titus Andronicus and Cymbeline, and with reference to debates on Anglo-colonialism.
Birthrights and the Due Course of Law
Authors: Halliday Paul
Published: August 2017

At the turn of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the concept of law as the Englishman’s ‘birthright’ replaced older metaphors of ‘inheritance’. Arising in part from the story of Esau and Jacob, the term ‘birthright’ carried a specific theological charge. It enabled Englishmen to claim a spiritual right to specific procedures that defined law’s ‘due course’. In the 1640s and 1650s, these claims developed into calls for the widening of law’s due course. Though they failed to transform legal process at the time, the language of their claims contributed to durable vernacular demands that law should pursue the righteous ends they demanded of it.
From Sovereignty to the State
Authors: Meyler Bernadette
Published: August 2017

The enthusiastic series of receptions of Philip Massinger’s 1623 play The Bondman by royalists and republicans alike has puzzled critics: Why did audiences from Prince Charles, to republicans resisting the possibility of Charles II’s return, to the spectators of the Restoration all respond to the play enthusiastically despite their disparate political vantage points? This essay argues that the play appealed to disparate constituencies by displacing focus from the sources of sovereignty onto the stability of the state. Drawing on Stoic philosopher Seneca’s De clementia, which Thomas Lodge had newly translated in 1614, The Bondman centers both generically and politically on clemency. Clemency infuses the play’s mode of tragicomedy and presents a vision of politics that prioritizes the general welfare of the state over any particular form of rule.
Drama
Authors: Streete Adrian
Published: August 2017

During the early modern period, doctrinal debate was at the forefront of intellectual and political life. The interrogation of religious ideology on stage often provoked controversy and reaction. Playwrights responded to, but also attempted to shape, these religious debates. I argue that periodic attempts by the authorities to ‘reform’ the stage were only partially successful. Paradoxically, however, the incompletion of these efforts were deeply generative for dramatists, opening up a wide range of aesthetic possibilities that were exploited throughout the period. The second part of this chapter examines some of these possibilities in more detail, and in light of the ‘turn to religion’ in recent scholarship, looks in particular at drama and the Bible, and the exploration of various religious passions on stage.
Satire and Polemic
Authors: Prescott Anne Lake
Published: August 2017

Satire and polemic were sharpened weapons in the religious wars that followed the Reformation and its aftermath, wars further enabled by print. Puns, alliterative insults, dialogues, mini-dramas, jests, epigrams, monsters, parodies, even almanacs, were all summoned to assault those whom their authors viewed as enemies to religious truth. This chapter first explores satires from the years just before Henry’s break with Rome until the Restoration, noting a shift in the 1590s as satires both improved in literary quality and became more conservative socially. The 1599 ban on printed satires stimulated the growth of satire’s baby brother, epigram; the conservatism, often directed against Nonconformists, culminated in the lofty sneer of Thomas Bancroft. Monsters were a favourite anti-Catholic theme, encouraged by the Apocalypse. The chapter closes with one major author and one major cluster: Thomas More wittily vociferating against the Reformation and Martin Marprelate igniting a bonfire of scurrilous verbal ingenuity.
Christopher Marlowe and Religion
Authors: Hopkins Lisa
Published: August 2017

To many of his contemporaries Marlowe was associated not with religion but, publicly and repeatedly, with irreligion. This chapter begins by suggesting that all Marlowe’s major works are in effect first contact narratives, and can be seen as responding in one way or another to Elizabethan encounters with other civilizations, and that this might be a possible reason why a man apparently initially destined for the Church ended his life as a playwright and poet. It then examines some of the various representations of religion in his works, including his use of classical mythology as well his inclusion of Jewish and Muslim characters, and finally attempts to trace some of the effect these had on his contemporaries. Ultimately it argues that Marlowe exerted a major influence on ways of both thinking about and writing about religion in early modern English culture.
Lucy Hutchinson
Authors: Wilcher Robert
Published: August 2017

This chapter traces the development of Lucy Hutchinson’s religious views and discusses the role of writing in both recording and driving her formation as a Puritan through the decades of Civil War, Interregnum, and Restoration. It shows how she and her husband, the regicide Colonel John Hutchinson, together came to repudiate the Laudian and Presbyterian national churches and explores the ways in which her Puritanism, especially her deepening commitment to the Calvinist doctrines of double predestination and divine providence, shaped her major literary achievements—the Life of her husband and her paraphrase of Genesis—and complicated her involvement with the translation of Lucretius. This chapter provides a reassessment of Lucy Hutchinson as an early modern female religious author from the new perspectives opened up by recent editions of her Lucretius and her biblical epic.
Female Religious Houses
Authors: Hallett Nicky
Published: August 2017

Nuns in early modern convents formed a discerning group of writers whose interpretive skills were distinctly shaped by their devotional discipline. This chapter explores their use of particular biblical passages that expose their contemplative concerns, aesthetic impetus, and wider mission to advance the spiritual state of their own readers. Among other material, the women drew on the Psalms, on Thomas à Kempis, the work of Teresa of Ávila and of other contemporary nuns, many of whom wrote anonymously and have only recently been identified. Nuns’ writing shows detailed knowledge of a wide range of secular and devotional material. Their use of quotation in private papers, publication, and around the convent building reveals a semi-sacramental, intercessional interest, to further their readers’ experience of the holy at a bodily as well as spiritual level. These authors seek to ‘infuse’ devotional feelings, simultaneously instructing and effecting change through the process of textual encounter.
Exiles Abroad
Authors: Goodrich Jaime
Published: August 2017

Over the course of the early modern period, political and religious upheavals in England led to the formation of many different expatriate communities on the Continent and in North America. As Catholics, Protestants, Nonconformists, and Royalists lived in exile, they established three major sorts of communities: lay congregations; educational institutions; and monastic houses. Examining texts produced by and for representative examples of each group (the Marian congregation at Geneva, the English colleges at Rheims and Rome, and the Third Order Franciscan convent in Brussels), this chapter offers case studies of the way that exiled communities adapted certain forms of writing in order to develop and express a collective religious identity. In doing so, members of these groups negotiated their relationships with one another, the English nation, and the broader Continental religious community.
Sectarian Groups
Authors: Harris Johanna
Published: August 2017

This chapter discusses the grey areas between conformity and separatism, and the problem of Puritanism in this context, beginning with the radical inheritances of England’s earliest underground separatist Protestant congregations in 1560s London, the evolved separatism of Dorothy Hazzard’s Bristol house church, and the connections between the Leveller Katherine Chidley, the Independent William Greenhill, and the Fifth Monarchist Anna Trapnel, as an example of the points of unity felt by believers across a spectrum of occasional conformity and radical puritan dissent. It highlights Lord Brooke’s 1641 description of the subtle degrees of separation between ‘Conformist’, ‘Non-Conformist’, ‘Separatist and Semi-Seperatist’ (sic). He argues that the 1640s saw a coalescence of underground dissent with evolved sectarianism, largely enabled by Civil War conditions and Cromwellian rule, resulting in more free and strident expressions of the individual right to read and interpret Scripture, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
The Bible
Authors: Hamlin Hannibal
Published: August 2017

The Christian religion is based on the Bible, and no book had a greater influence on early modern English literature. The Bible was at the heart of the early modern culture of translation, and the English language was affected by the efforts of William Tyndale, Miles Coverdale, and others to properly render the Bible’s original Hebrew and Greek. Since understanding and following the Bible was necessary to salvation, and the Bible is often difficult, Bible reading also demanded interpretation, and this led to the proliferation of interpretive aids: biblical paratexts, sermons, and commentaries. Translation is necessarily interpretive, in the choices made in English Bibles, but especially in broader paraphrases and adaptations, from the metrical Psalms of Sternhold and Hopkins and Philip and Mary Sidney to the biblical epics of Du Bartas, Abraham Cowley, and Milton. Much of early modern literature could be described as an effort to understand the Bible.
Translation
Authors: Willie Rachel
Published: August 2017

Transnational exchange and intellectual networks in the early modern period relied upon translation—mainly into Latin—as a way to communicate across Europe. Translation was integral to humanist education where creative engagement with the source text was admired. Yet the exegetical and socio-political considerations that underpinned biblical translation meant that the rights and wrongs of translating the Bible into the vernacular in England was hotly debated. Whereas scriptural translation drew attention to the need to translate word for word to prevent heresy and to maintain accuracy in the presentation of the Word, psalm translation and translating from other vernacular languages posed different challenges for the translator; these challenges perhaps become most apparent when translating across confessional divides. This chapter considers the relationship between translation and religion in early modern English literature and the wider European perspectives that informed the ways in which narrative was recreated in English imaginative writing.
The Evolution of Lactose Tolerance in Dairying Populations
Authors: Gerbault Pascale , Walker Catherine , Yonova-Doing Ekaterina , Brown Katherine , Thomas Mark G.
Published: August 2017

Among the biocultural innovations associated with the Neolithic, dairying and the evolution of lactose tolerance is the most studied. Expression of the enzyme lactase, which digests the milk sugar lactose, decreases after weaning in mammals, including most humans. However, some humans express lactase throughout adulthood—a trait known as lactase persistence (LP). Striking observations about LP evolution include: (i) a strong correlation between LP frequency and a history of herding and dairying; (ii) genetic patterns indicating LP-associated variants have increased in frequency through natural selection; (iii) two of these variants have been experimentally shown to affect lactase expression in adults; and (iv) archaeological and ancient DNA data indicate dairying pre-dated the rise of LP-associated variants. This chapter reviews the biology and archaeology of LP, examines some of the hypotheses formulated to explain its distribution, and outlines how simulation modelling has contributed to our understanding of its evolution.
Tooth Enamel Biogeochemistry and Early Hominin Diets
Authors: Sponheimer Matt , Lee-Thorp Julia
Published: August 2017

Biogeochemical studies of hominin dietary ecology began decades ago, and, despite refinements, the basic tools being used and questions being asked have changed little since then. Carbon isotope analyses have had the most impact, with numerous studies showing that up to c.4 Ma, early hominins consumed primarily C3 vegetation, as do extant apes, but thereafter consumption of C4 foods became conspicuous if variable. Paranthropus boisei completely abandoned the ancestral C3 diet by at least 2 Ma to become a C4 consumer, a rarity among primates. These shifts were accompanied by changes in the australopith masticatory package. Applications using trace elements, particularly strontium and barium, as trophic level indicators have been less successful, partly because the distributions of trace elements in foodwebs are poorly understood. Similarly, while the oxygen isotope composition of tooth enamel unquestionably reflects ecology, the influences are complex and too poorly understood to allow unambiguous interpretation.
Developing Volunteers in Policing: Assessing the Potential Volunteer Police Community Police Officer
Authors: Strudwick Katie , Jameson Jill , Rowe Jackie
Published: August 2017

Community or reassurance policing in the UK has developed concurrently with diversification and expansion of the policing family, including the broadening of volunteer opportunities beyond the traditional Special Constable and Police Support Volunteer roles. To increase capacity and capability in community-based policing, one Force introduced Volunteer Police Community Support Officers (VPCSOs) to complement that of employed PCSOs. This paper presents an exploratory discussion on a small-scale study of a previously un-researched and evolutionary area of police volunteering; evaluating the effectiveness of the VPCSO role reviewing its impact as a means of increasing community connectivity and meeting public demands for visibility policing. The introduction of VPCSOs was seen as successful by the Force involved which continues to develop the role as a useful ‘policing resource’. However, challenges to success were identified, not least the uncertainty surrounding the delegation of powers to volunteers that required a change in primary legislation.
Developmental Screening in Pediatric Sickle Cell Disease: Disease-Related Risk and Screening Outcomes in 4 Year Olds
Authors: Schatz Jeffrey , Schlenz Alyssa , Reinman Laura , Smith Kelsey , Roberts Carla W.
Published: August 2017

Objective:

Studies of early child development in sickle cell disease (SCD) have found modest associations between disease-related risks and developmental status in infants and toddlers, but such associations are evident by early elementary school. We screened 4-year-old children with SCD using 2 screening strategies to assess if biomedical risk factors for neurologic disease are related to developmental screening outcomes at this intermediate age.

Methods:

Seventy-seven 4-year-old children with SCD (M = 4.5 yrs, SD = 0.3 yrs) completed developmental screenings at routine hematology visits using child testing (Fluharty Preschool Speech and Language Screenings Test, 2nd edition) and parent-report (Ages and Stages Questionnaire, 2nd edition) procedures. Genotype and other biomedical variables were coded from medical records.

Results:

Children with higher-risk SCD genotypes (n = 52) showed lower performance than children with lower-risk genotypes (n = 25) on a measure related to neurologic disease risk in older children (syntactic processing); genotype risk was also related to rates of positive screenings on parent-reported developmental milestones (52% positive screenings in high-risk genotypes vs 12% in low-risk genotypes). Screening outcomes were also related to transcranial Doppler ultrasound findings assessing cerebral blood flow.

Conclusion:

Developmental screening at age 4 may be a useful target age for identifying preschoolers with sickle cell–related neurodevelopmental concerns. Parent report of developmental milestones and behavioral testing each may have a role in screening for children in need of follow-up services to address potential neurodevelopmental effects from SCD.
Is there a standard-of-care for transfusion support of patients with haematological malignancies?
Authors: Zhao Jingcheng , Edgren Gustaf , Stanworth Simon J.
Published: August 2017

Purpose of review

Patients with haematological malignancies are a high-user group for blood transfusions. Here, we describe the current evidence on transfusion policies in patients with haematological malignancies, based on recent systematic reviews of RCTs.

Recent findings

Results from six RCTs (1195 participants) suggest that prophylactic platelet transfusions reduce bleeding compared with therapeutic-only use, although the effects varied according to patient diagnosis/treatment plan. A meta-analysis of seven RCTs (1814 participants) reported that low-dose platelet transfusions (1.1 × 1011/m2 ± 25%) were noninferior to standard dose (2.2 × 1011/m2 ± 25%), or high dose (4.4 × 1011/m2 ± 25%). Three RCTs (499 participants) reported that restrictive platelet count thresholds (less than 10 × 109/l) were noninferior to liberal thresholds counts (less than 20–30 × 109/l). For red-cell transfusions, the data from completed RCTs was less advanced. A recent meta-analysis with four RCTs (240 participants) suggested that restrictive thresholds (less than 70–90 g/l) are noninferior to liberal thresholds (less than 80–120 g/l), but with more uncertainty for clinical outcomes.

There is support from randomised trials for using prophylactic platelet transfusions, in low-dose, and with restrictive thresholds. No large completed studies have been published for red-cell transfusions. Many studies overall were arguably underpowered and only offered low-to-medium grade level evidence.
Improved Outcomes of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation in Rats Treated With Vagus Nerve Stimulation and Its Potential Mechanism
Authors: Sun Peng , Wang Jiangang , Zhao Shen , Yang Zhengfei , Tang Ziren , Ravindra Navami , Bradley Jennifer , Ornato Joseph P. , Peberdy Mary Ann , Tang Wanchun
Published: August 2017

Studies have demonstrated that vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) reduces ischemia/reperfusion injury. In this study, we investigated the protective effects of VNS in a rat model of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). We further investigated whether the beneficial effects of VNS were dependent on the alpha 7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7nAChR). Forty animals were randomized into four groups and all underwent CPR (n = 10 each): CPR alone (control); VNS during CPR; α7nAChR antagonist methyllycaconitine citrate (MLA) with VNS; α7nAChR agonist 3-(2, 4-dimethoxybenzylidene) anabaseine (GTS-21 dihydrochloride) without VNS. The right vagus nerve was exteriorized in all animals. Ventricular fibrillation was induced and untreated for 8 min. Defibrillation was attempted after 8 min of CPR. VNS was initiated at the beginning of precordial chest compressions and continued for 4 h after return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) in both the VNS and MLA groups. Hemodynamic measurements and myocardial function, including ejection fraction and myocardial performance index, were assessed at baseline, 1 and 4 h after ROSC. The neurological deficit score was measured at 24-h intervals for a total of 72 h. The heart rate was reduced in the VNS and MLA groups, while no difference was found in mean arterial pressure between the four groups. Better post-resuscitation myocardial and cerebral function and longer duration of survival were observed in the VNS-treated animals. The protective effects of VNS could be abolished by MLA and imitated by GTS-21. In addition, VNS decreased the number of electrical shocks and the duration of CPR required. VNS improves multiple outcomes after CPR.
Cell cycle modulates CXCR4 expression in germinal center B cells
Authors: Weber Tom S
Published: August 2017

Adaptation of antibody-mediated immunity occurs in germinal centers (GC). It is where affinity maturation, class switching, memory and plasma cell differentiation synergize to generate specific high affinity antibodies that help both to clear and protect against reinfection of invading pathogens. Within GCs, light and dark zone are two compartments instrumental in regulating this process, by segregating T cell dependent selection and differentiation from generation of GC B cells bearing hypermutated antigen receptors. Spatial segregation of GC B cells into the two zones relies on the chemokine receptor CXCR4, with textbook models attributing high and low expression levels to a dark and light zone phenotype. This bipolarity is however not reflected in the CXCR4 expression profile of GC B cells, which is unimodal and markedly heterogeneous, indicating a continuum of intermediate CXCR4 levels rather than a binary dark or light zone phenotype. Here analysis of published BrdU pulse-chase data reveals that throughout cell cycle, average CXCR4 expression in GC B cells steadily increases by up to 75%, scaling with cell surface area. CXCR4 expression in recently divided GC B cells in G0/G1 phase shows intermediate levels compared to cells in G2 and M phase, consistent with their smaller size. The least number of CXCR4 receptors are displayed by GC B cells in G0/G1 that have not been in cell cycle for several hours. The latter, upon entering S phase however, ramp up relative CXCR4 expression twice as much as recently divided cells. Twelve hours after the BrdU pulse, labelled GC B cells, while initially in S phase, are fully desynchronized in terms of cell cycle and match the CXCR4 expression of unlabeled cells. A model is discussed in which CXCR4 expression in GC B cell increases with cell cycle and cell surface area, with highest levels in G2 and M phase, coinciding with GC B cell receptor signaling in G2 and immediately preceding activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) activity in early G1. In the model, GC B cells compete for immobilized or expressed CXCL12 on the basis of their CXCR4 expression levels, gaining a relative advantage as they progress in cell cycle, but loosing the advantage at the moment they divide.
Catch 22? Disclosing assisted conception treatment at work
Authors: van den Akker Olga B.A. , Payne Nicola , Lewis Suzan
Published: August 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore factors influencing decision making about disclosure of assisted reproductive technology (ART) use in the workplace.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative study design was used. In total, 31 women and 6 men who were using or had recently used ART were recruited from British fertility networks and interviewed. Data were transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed.

Findings

Two main strands were identified each encompassing two themes: “Concerns about disclosure” covered the very personal nature of disclosing ART treatment and also career concerns and “Motives for disclosure” covered feeling which was necessary to disclose and also the influence of workplace relationships.

Research limitations/implications

The relatively small, self-selected sample of participants was recruited from fertility support networks, and lacked some diversity.

Practical implications

Clarity about entitlements to workplace support and formal protection against discrimination, along with management training and awareness raising about ART treatment is needed to help normalise requests for support and to make decisions about disclosure within the workplace easier.

Originality/value

The study has highlighted an understudied area of research in ART populations. The data provide insight into the challenging experiences of individuals combining ART with employment and, in particular, the complexity of decisions about whether or not to disclose.
Leaders’ narcissism and organizational cynicism in healthcare organizations
Authors: Erkutlu Hakan , Chafra Jamel
Published: August 2017

Purpose

Drawing on the social exchange theory and the stressor-strain framework, the purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between leaders’ narcissism and employee’s organizational cynicism. Specifically, the authors take a relational approach by introducing employee’s psychological strain as the mediator. The moderating role of psychological capital in the relationship between leaders’ narcissism and employee’s cynicism is also considered.

Design/methodology/approach

The data of this study encompass 1,215 certified nurses from 15 university hospitals in Turkey. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was conducted to test the proposed model.

Findings

The statistical results of this study supported the positive effect of leaders’ narcissism on employee’s cynicism as well as the mediating effect of employee’s psychological strain. Moreover, when the level of psychological capital is high, the relationship between leaders’ narcissism and organizational cynicism is weak, whereas the effect is strong when the level of psychological capital is low.

Practical implications

The findings of this study suggest that managers in the healthcare industry should be sensitive in treating their subordinates, as it will lead to positive interpersonal relationship, which, in turn, will reduce employee cynicism. Moreover, managers should pay more attention to the buffering role of psychological capital for those employees with high psychological strain and showing organizational cynicism.

Originality/value

As the healthcare sector continues to go through a transformational change, it is important to identify organizational factors that affect employee attitudes. There is limited empirical evidence about the determinants of cynicism, particularly in the healthcare sector environment. This study contributes to the literature on organizational cynicism by revealing the relational mechanism between leaders’ narcissism and employee cynicism. The paper also offers a practical assistance to employees in the healthcare management and their leaders interested in building trust, increasing leader-employee relationship and reducing organizational cynicism.
Sensing Mg2+ contributes to the resistance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to complement‐mediated opsonophagocytosis
Authors: Qadi Mohammad , Izquierdo‐Rabassa Sofía , Mateu Borrás Margalida , Doménech‐Sánchez Antonio , Juan Carlos , Goldberg Joanna B. , Hancock Robert E. W. , Albertí Sebastián
Published: August 2017

Pseudomonas aeruginosa adaptation to survive in the host hinges on its ability to probe the environment and respond appropriately. Rapid adaptation is often mediated by two‐component regulatory systems, such as the PhoP/PhoQ system that responds to Mg2+ ion concentration. However, there is limited information about the role of PhoQ in P. aeruginosa bloodstream infections. We used a murine model of systemic infection to test the virulence of a PhoQ‐deficient mutant. Mutation of PhoQ impaired the virulence and the ability to cause bacteremia of P. aeruginosa. In the presence of blood concentrations of Mg2+, a PhoQ mutant bound more C3 and was more susceptible to complement‐mediated opsonophagocytosis than the parent strain, suggesting a direct effect of the Mg2+ on the modulation of expression of a bacterial component controlled by the PhoP/PhoQ system. Ligand blot analysis, C3 binding experiments and opsonophagocytosis assays identified this component as the outer membrane protein OprH, expression of which impaired the virulence of P. aeruginosa in a murine model of systemic infection. We demonstrate that expression of PhoQ is essential to detect Mg2+ and reduce the expression of OprH, a previously unrecognized C3 binding molecule that promotes the opsonophagocytosis of P. aeruginosa.
High potential for temperate viruses to drive carbon cycling in chemoautotrophy‐dominated shallow‐water hydrothermal vents
Authors: Rastelli Eugenio , Corinaldesi Cinzia , Dell'Anno Antonio , Tangherlini Michael , Martorelli Eleonora , Ingrassia Michela , Chiocci Francesco L. , Lo Martire Marco , Danovaro Roberto
Published: August 2017

Viruses are the most abundant life forms in the world's oceans and they are key drivers of biogeochemical cycles, but their impact on the microbial assemblages inhabiting hydrothermal vent ecosystems is still largely unknown. Here, we analysed the viral life strategies and virus‐host interactions in the sediments of a newly discovered shallow‐water hydrothermal field of the Mediterranean Sea. Our study reveals that temperate viruses, once experimentally induced to replicate, can cause large mortality of vent microbes, significantly reducing the chemoautotrophic carbon production, while enhancing the metabolism of microbial heterotrophs and the re‐cycling of the organic matter. These results provide new insights on the factors controlling primary and secondary production processes in hydrothermal vents, suggesting that the inducible provirus‐host interactions occurring in these systems can profoundly influence the functioning of the microbial food web and the efficiency in the energy transfer to the higher trophic levels.
An exploration of teacher's use of iPads for students with learning support needs
Authors: Chambers Dianne , Jones Phyllis , McGhie‐Richmond Donna , Riley Michael , May‐Poole Sarah , Orlando Ann Marie , Simsek Orhan , Wilcox Catherine
Published: August 2017

This project explored how iPads were being used in a range of K‐12 schools to support the learning of students with a range of learning support needs. Groups of teachers (and other professionals) from the USA, Canada, Australia and the UK were invited to complete an online survey focused on the use of iPads in their classrooms, perspectives of their skill level, and how their school and school districts support the use of iPads. The survey focused on iPad use in classrooms (curriculum and skills); teachers’ skill levels; whether iPads are addressed in the Individualised Education Program (IEP); the systemic support for the iPads; and the perceived benefits and barriers. The results reveal that respondents are using iPads across many areas of the curriculum, which affirms the research in the emerging literature base. However, there are teacher reported differences in the manner and scope of iPad use in the classrooms and also the integration of the iPad in the IEP. The research also highlights variability in reported skill level for the iPad and an increased need for enhanced systemic support, such as training, funding, technical support and administrative support for the use of the iPad as a pedagogical tool.