bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Oedipus Complex, the Capacity to Think and Group Analysis
Authors: McLachlan Sheena
Published: November 2009

This article is an initial exploration of connections between the working through of the Oedipal conflict and the development of the capacity to think in a group analytical group. It looks at approaches taken by different writers to the development of mind, at the signs of resistance to thinking in the therapy group, and at the possibilities the group offers to resolve pre-Oedipal stages to enable the development of conscious thinking.
Changes in the Prevalence of Mobility Limitations and Mobile Life Expectancy of Older Adults in Singapore, 1995-2005
Authors: Yong Vanessa , Saito Yasuhiko , Chan Angelique
Published: November 2009

Objective: To examine changes in the prevalence of mobility limitations and mobile life expectancy of Singaporeans aged 55+. Method: Data came from the cross-sectional 1995 and 2005 National Survey of Senior Citizens (NSSC; n = 4,750 and n = 4,591, respectively). The prevalence-based Sullivan method was used to disaggregate total life expectancy into expected life time without and with mobility limitations. Results: Increases in life expectancy in the city-state were accompanied by increases in the prevalence of mobility limitations—from 3.0% to 5.7% for men and 5.1% to 9.7% for women. The impairments mostly began after age 65 and increased with age particularly at ages 85+. The proportion of life expectancy without mobility limitations declined over time, at all ages, and for both genders, with women still experiencing a higher proportion with mobility problems compared to men. Discussion: The overall results provided support for the expansion of morbidity hypothesis, and we discussed some possible reasons. From a policy perspective, the findings could suggest a need to develop infrastructures that would enable older Singaporeans to remain mobile in a highly urban setting.
Preliminary cross-cultural adaptation of a new pediatric health-related quality of life scale in children with systemic lupus erythematosus: an international effort
Authors: Moorthy LN , Peterson MGE , Baratelli MJ , Hassett AL , Lehman TJA ,   the International SMILEY© Collaborative Group
Published: November 2009

We developed a brief, new health-related quality of life measure for children with systemic lupus erythematosus that is valid in English for the United States, called Simple Measure of Impact of Lupus Erythematosus in Youngsters© (SMILEY©). The United States-English language questionnaire may not be applicable to most of the countries in the world and several United States population subgroups, such as Hispanics. In order to measure the impact of morbidity of systemic lupus erythematosus on the lives of children, adolescents, and their parents and assess the outcome of new therapies, it is critical to have a uniform measure of systemic lupus erythematosus-specific health-related quality of life that is valid for different cultures. We report the translation and cultural adaptation process undertaken by our team with the goal of cross-cultural validation of SMILEY© in the following thirteen languages: Danish, Dutch, French (France), German (Germany), Hebrew, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Slovene, Spanish (USA and Puerto Rico), Spanish (Spain), Spanish (Argentina), Spanish (Mexico), and Turkish. We employed the following steps: establishing collaborative relationships with institutions across the globe; forward and back translation of SMILEY© text; and cultural adaptation of SMILEY© content. We are in the process of enrolling patients and conducting validation of the translated and adapted versions of SMILEY©. Lupus (2010) 19, 83—88.
Moderate versus high-titer persistently anticardiolipin antibody positive patients: Are they clinically different and does high-titer anti-β2-glycoprotein-I antibody positivity offer additional predictive information?
Authors: Erkan D. , Barbhaiya M. , George D. , Sammaritano L. , Lockshin MD
Published: November 2009

The association between antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) and clinical events is stronger with a positive lupus anticoagulant (LA) test, higher anticardiolipin antibody (aCL) titers, and/or higher anti-β2-glycoprotein-I antibody (aβ 2GPI) titers. The objective of this study was to determine the clinical characteristics of persistently high-titer (≥80 U) aCL-positive patients compared with those with persistent moderate aCL titers (40—79 U). Second, we analyzed whether high-titer aβ2GPI test adds predictive information in persistently moderate-to-high titer aCL-positive patients. In this cross-sectional study, the primary analysis compared the clinical and aPL characteristics of 58 patients with at least two moderate-titer aCL results to another 85 patients with at least two high-titer aCL results. In the secondary analysis of patients with at least two aβ2GPI test results, we compared 29 patients with ‘aCL 40—79 U and aβ 2GPI < 80 U’ profiles with 8 patients with ‘aCL 40—79U and aβ2GPI ≥ 80 U’, and also compared 27 patients with ‘aCL > 80 U and aβ2GPI < 80 U’ with 32 patients with ‘aCL > 80 U and aβ2GPI ≥ 80 U’. Although aPL-related vascular and pregnancy events were similar between the moderate- and high-titer aCL groups, the number of patients with positive LA tests (RR 2.06, CI 1.38—3.08, p < 0.01) and with at least one non-criteria aPL manifestation (RR 1.66, CI 1.20—2.30, p = 0.0005) were significantly higher in the high-titer aCL group. While magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) white matter changes were statistically more common in the high-titer aCL group (RR 2.03, CI 1.04—3.94, p = 0.02), there was a trend towards increased prevalence of livedo reticularis, cardiac valve disease, and cognitive dysfunction occurring in the high-titer aCL group. The secondary analysis showed that MRI white matter changes, cardiac valve disease, and cognitive dysfunction were proportionally more common in the high-titer aβ 2GPI groups, suggesting a linear relationship between non-criteria aPL manifestations and aPL titers. Our results suggest that patients with high aCL titers, compared with those with moderate titers, are more likely to have a positive LA test and a higher prevalence of non-criteria aPL manifestations. Furthermore, high-titer aβ2GPI positivity may further increase the prevalence of non-criteria aPL manifestations in moderate- or high-titer aCL-positive patients.
Generación de Generación
Authors: Scull Nicholas C.
Published: November 2009

This study is focused on Ladino (European-descent) perspectives of race-relations with indigenous groups (Mayan-descent) in Guatemala. In particular, 13 Ladino parents were interviewed regarding their perceptions on the current social status of their indigenous counterparts, on social barriers and the ways in which they socialise their children about race relations with Guatemala’s indigenous groups. Participants were recruited from Cobán and El Quiché. Interviews were analysed using grounded theory. Study participants suggested that they reject categorical racism, and that governmental policies have been effective in establishing indigenous rights and mitigating social inequality. However, most participants blamed indigenous cultural practices as the cause of their oppression, and some participants indicated a concern that Ladinos are losing political power. Thus, it appears that explicit forms of racism are less socially acceptable and bias may now manifest in more subtle forms. Findings are contextualised within social dominance theory.
Interventions for Childhood Aggression in a Cross-Cultural Context
Authors: Martin-Storey Alexa , Temcheff Caroline E. , Martin Erica K. , Stack Dale M.
Published: November 2009

Negative outcomes associated with childhood aggression, including its relation to adult criminality and domestic violence, have led researchers in the developed world to create effective interventions aimed at reducing childhood aggression and minimising its long-term negative outcomes. This article addresses the implications of adapting these interventions in a developing world context by examining issues central to the discussion of these adaptations. These include (a) comparing correlates associated with childhood aggression in the developed world and developing world, (b) addressing some of the challenges in adapting interventions for childhood aggression in a cross-cultural context and (c) presenting general guidelines on designing interventions for childhood aggression that may be helpful to clinicians and community groups within the developing world. The adaptation of interventions for the reduction of childhood aggression may prove useful in areas in which exposure to violence and instability threaten the child’s development.
The Development and Use of Intelligence Tests in China
Authors: Higgins Louise T. , Xiang Gao
Published: November 2009

This article summarises the development and use of intelligence tests in China. Part one introduces the historical development of testing in China and notes Western intelligence tests which have been adapted for use in China, as well as those developed by Chinese psychologists. Part two reviews research using intelligence tests in China including difference studies, correlation studies and studies of special groups. Today, more and more intelligence tests are being developed and used in China.
Development of a Screening Instrument for Post-Traumatic Symptoms
Authors: Perera-Diltz Dilani M. , Laux John M. , Tiamiyu Mojisola F. , Piazza Nick J. , Ritchie Martin H. , Stead Graham B.
Published: November 2009

Traumatic events in Sri Lanka, such as a decade-long civil war and the 2004 tsunami, necessitate a language specific and time-efficient screening instrument for post-traumatic symptoms. The Sinhala version of the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (SIES-R) was administered to 438 adult participants. Internal consistency estimates for the total SIES-R and each subscales were acceptable (α = .70). A one-week test-retest reliability (n = 54) analysis provided evidence of temporal stability. Adjusted item-to-scale reliability estimates were less supportive. Confirmatory factor analysis using LISREL indicates a three factor structure best represents the SIES-R’s underlying factor structure. Results suggest the SIES-R as appropriate for screening of post-trauma symptoms in Sinhala speaking SriLankans in an urban area.
Socialisation of Street Children in India
Authors: Mathur Meena
Published: November 2009

This study was carried out with an aim to map the socio-economic realities of street children in Jaipur city, India. In-depth interviews were conducted in a “casual-conversation” manner with 200 street children, profiles of their background, incidence of migration, familial contacts, clothing and food, work experiences, play and entertainment, personal habits, peer interaction, attitudes toward self, family and society; and aspirations and expectations were studied. The field scenario indicated that majority of street children were boys (71%) and in 8–12 years age group. Incidence of migration was observed and 70.5% of these children lived with their families. Gambling, watching films and television; smoking and drinking, and taking drugs were common modes of entertainment and relaxation for these children. The results throw light on significant developmental concerns which emerge from the socialisation of street children in India, and draw a parallel with the findings of research studies carried out in different parts of the world to strike common ground for theory building and practice.
How Far are the Electoral Rolls in India Ideal for a Democracy?
Authors: Retnakumar J.
Published: November 2009

The base of a democracy lies with the voter population of that country, and they are supposed to uphold the principles of one-person, one-value and one-vote. But, how far can India’s electoral rolls embrace those basic principles of democracy? In India, there are provisions for annual revision of the electoral rolls of every constituency, which includes the inclusion of eligible and exclusion of ineligible electors. In this context, it is important to examine to what extent the voter population in the electoral roll matches with the actual voter population. Which are the major states responsible for anomalies in the electoral rolls? What are the possible explanations for the inconsistencies in the electoral roll? This article addresses these issues and the findings suggest that the over-reporting of electors in the electoral rolls is to the extent of 20 million in 2004. It throws into light the exigency for improving the quality of electoral rolls timely and with proper methods prior to every election to maintain the principles of democracy.
‘Episodes’ or ‘Evolution’
Authors: McCartney Matthew
Published: November 2009

This article begins by looking more closely at a debate now widely forgotten—that of liberalisation under Rajiv Gandhi in 1985–86. It is widely assumed this earlier attempt to liberalise the economy was only short-lived and 1991 marks the true turning point in policy reform. This article finds that arguments trying to simultaneously reconcile stalled liberalisation in 1985 with sustained liberalisation after 1991 (elite politics, reform by stealth, clever political management, elite psychology) do not convince. This article seeks to demonstrate that 1991 marked not a break but a continuation of liberalising economic policies. By shifting liberalisation back well before the structural break in growth (widely acknowledged to have occurred around 1980) its candidature as an explanation for that increase in growth needs again to be carefully considered.
Economic Cooperation in South Asia
Authors: Kumar A. Ganesh , Saini Gordhan K.
Published: November 2009

This article attempts to evaluate the Pareto optimality of SAFTA and three other alternative sets of coordinated trade policies that go beyond SAFTA for all the member states. These include (a) extended preferential trading between SAFTA with other major trading blocs, (b) full trade liberalisation by South Asian countries and (c) SAFTA plus a customs union. The analysis, using the standard static Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) model, shows that (a) there would be winners and losers amongst the member states, (b) the winners and losers vary across alternative scenarios that represent different trade policy regime and (c) the gains/losses as the case may be are not very large. Thus, the welfare basis for establishing SAFTA or for deeper trade policy coordination is not very strong. Justification for SAFTA may lie in other dimensions of regional cooperation than in mere tariff policy coordination.
B-type Natriuretic Peptide (BNP) Is Useful in Detecting Asymptomatic Left Ventricular Dysfunction in Low-Income, Uninsured Patients
Authors: Macabasco-O'Connell Aurelia , Meymandi Sheba , Bryg Robert
Published: November 2009

Low-income, uninsured individuals with multiple cardiovascular risk factors (CRFs) are at risk of heart failure (HF). B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) screening for asymptomatic left ventricular dysfunction (ALVD) has not been tested specifically in this group. The purposes of this study were to describe BNP levels in asymptomatic low-income, uninsured individuals with multiple CRFs and determine the correlation between BNP levels and echocardiography for identifying ALVD. Methods: This correlational study included 53 patients (age 55 ± 10 years, 83% non-White, 64% female). BNP testing and echocardiogram (ECHO) were performed. Results: Of the 30 patients (57%) diagnosed with ALVD by ECHO, 21 (40%) had diastolic and 9 (17%) systolic dysfunction. BNP levels were lower among those with normal left ventricular (LV) function (29.6 ± 24 pg/mL) than those with diastolic (80.2 ± 69 pg/mL, p = .01) and systolic dysfunction (337.1 ± 374 pg/mL, p = .009). sParticipants with BNP ≥50 pg/ mL were 5.75 times more likely to exhibit diastolic dysfunction (odds ratio [OR] = 5.75, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.29— 25.51; p < .01) and those with BNP ≥100 pg/mL were 7.80 times more likely to have systolic dysfunction (OR = 7.8, 95% CI 1.60—37.14; p < .005) than those with lower levels. With BNP cut point of 50 pg/mL, area under the curve (AUC) was 0.82 (95% CI 0.63—1.00) with sensitivity of 88% and specificity of 67%. Conclusion: BNP is a low-cost method to detect ALVD in high-risk, uninsured, low-income individuals. Elevated BNP levels should prompt initiation of further diagnostic testing and early treatment.
A Longitudinal Description of Heart Rate Variability in 28—34-Week-Old Preterm Infants
Authors: Krueger Charlene , van Oostrom JoHannes H. , Shuster Jonathan
Published: November 2009

The purpose of this study was to longitudinally describe changes in heart rate variability (HRV) from 28 to 34 weeks postmenstrual age (PMA). A convenience sample of 31 low-risk preterm infants participated. HRV was quantified using a spectral analysis of heart periods and recorded during seven weekly test sessions from an electrocardiogram (ECG) signal. The total range of frequency components (0.04—2.0 Hz), high-frequency (HF) components (0.30—1.3 Hz), and ratio of low-to-high frequency (LF/HF) components (0.04—0.20/ 0.30—1.3 Hz) were measured. A mixed general linear model analysis revealed no significant change over weekly test sessions for the total, the high, and the ratio of LF/HF components. A significant interaction effect was, however, noted in the HF components for test session × gender (df = 1; F = 4.85; p = .030). With increasing age, the HF components for females increased or displayed a pattern of HRV indicative of a more mature autonomic nervous system (ANS). Study findings warrant further investigation of the impact of gender on normative descriptions of HRV.
Rational design in motion: Uncertainty and flexibility in the global climate regime
Authors: Thompson Alexander
Published: November 2009

Recent International Relations scholarship offers valuable rational choice explanations for the design of international institutions. However, the rational design literature has relied heavily on institutional outcomes as evidence for testing models. Such studies must be complemented by research designs that analyze the decisions and bargaining that drive design choices in order to expose causal mechanisms and test a wider range of observable implications. I assess an important rational design hypothesis, that uncertainty leads to flexible institutions, by analyzing the negotiations behind the climate change regime and by considering two distinct institutional outcomes across time. While the hypothesis receives considerable support, significant behavior and outcomes do not conform to its logic. I propose refinements for rational design theory in general and work on uncertainty and flexibility in particular. Rational choice theory speaks to the process of institutional design and should not content itself with predicting — and testing itself against — equilibrium outcomes.
Explaining zones of negative peace in interstate relations: The construction of a West African Lockean culture of anarchy
Authors: Thies Cameron G.
Published: November 2009

This article provides a theoretical and empirical account of the zone of negative peace thought to encompass the 16 states of West Africa from independence through the early 1990s. I draw on constructivist theory to argue that the zone of negative peace is a particular kind of interstate culture resulting from the formation of rival role relationships between states in the region. This theoretical approach combined with a compatible empirical measure of rivalry allows a quantitative test of a variety of well-known explanations for the zone of peace phenomenon. The simultaneous equations statistical analysis allows us to model the effect that rival role relationships have on the Lockean culture of anarchy, and vice versa (i.e. the mutual constitution of agents and structures). The results also indicate that a Lockean culture of anarchy, or zone of negative peace, is affected by factors emphasized by realists, liberals, and constructivists in the West African context.
Cyberbullying among youngsters: profiles of bullies and victims
Authors: Vandebosch Heidi , Van Cleemput Katrien
Published: November 2009

A survey among 2052 primary and secondary school children reveals that cyberbullying among youngsters is not a marginal problem. However, there are discrepancies between the prevalence figures based on direct measurement versus indirect measurement of cyberbullying. Youngsters who have bullied someone via the internet or mobile phone during the last three months are younger, and are more often victims and bystanders of bullying via the internet or mobile phone, and are more often the perpetrators of traditional bullying. Youngsters who have been bullied via the internet or mobile phone during the last three months are more dependent upon the internet, feel less popular, take more internet-related risks, are more often a bystander and perpetrator of internet and mobile phone bullying, and are less often a perpetrator and more often a victim of traditional bullying. The implications for future research into cyberbullying and for cyberbullying prevention strategies are discussed.
User-generated content on the internet: an examination of gratifications, civic engagement and psychological empowerment
Authors: Leung Louis
Published: November 2009

As they relate to user-generated content on the internet, civic engagement and psychological empowerment have received significant interest in recent years. While past studies have examined online civic participation and political empowerment, the way in which civic engagement offline and content generation online are related to psychological empowerment has not been thoroughly explored. The purpose of this study is to address the roles that gratifications of content generation online (e.g. satisfying recognition needs, cognitive needs, social needs and entertainment needs) and civic engagement offline play in predicting levels of user-generated content on the internet; and how the gratifications of content generation online, civic engagement offline and user-generated content influence the three components of psychological empowerment (i.e. self-efficacy, perceived competence and desire for control). This study reasserts that psychological empowerment can be enhanced by one’s degree of content generation online and by both one’s attitude and behavior in civic engagement offline.
Technical code and the social construction of the internet
Authors: Flanagin Andrew J. , Flanagin Craig , Flanagin Jon
Published: November 2009

This article employs and extends the concept of technical code (Feenberg, 1992, 1995a, 1995b) to examine the current state of the internet. The notion of technical code — the cultural and social assumptions and values that become manifest in a technology’s physical and structural forms — is invoked to examine design characteristics of the internet that, in turn, reflect and provide opportunities for important social outcomes. Overall, the internet’s technical design supports interoperability and open access, while suggesting an enormous capacity for personalization and innovation. In turn, these technical features support the emergence of myriad collective social activities, resulting in a sense of individual empowerment achieved through enhanced agency. Significant countervailing forces, however, inhibit this potential. By examining the values, priorities, and assumptions that have become built into the internet, both technically and socially, the present analysis clarifies this tension and serves to frame the internet’s potential at this critical time in its evolution.
There’s no ‘I’ in information: some naysayings for new media studies
Authors: Conatser Trey
Published: November 2009

The proliferation of empirical inquiries into concepts such as ‘interactivity’ and ‘virtual reality’ has been at the expense of the theoretical (or metadiscursive) in new media studies. The greatest consequence of empiricism’s inductive hierarchies is an ontological negation of the body, the subject in corporeal space. Far from producing a ‘new’ subjectivity, such a negation only reifies a subject’s disembodiment and wholly abstracts the space around them. Examining the writings of many critics and theorists, most significantly Mark Hansen and the spatial theory of Henri Lefebvre, this argument shows that the theoretical must first and foremost be held accountable to itself if the ‘new’ is to be realized. The stakes in this piece are the subject’s embodiment and very ability to articulate itself as ‘I’ in an information-saturated age that challenges the distinction between virtuality and corporeality, a challenge that conceptually bankrupts acts of distinction and differentiation.
Balancing opportunities and risks in teenagers’ use of the internet: the role of online skills and internet self-efficacy
Authors: Livingstone Sonia , Helsper Ellen
Published: November 2009

Many hopes exist regarding the opportunities that the internet can offer to young people as well as fears about the risks it may bring. Informed by research on media literacy, this article examines the role of selected measures of internet literacy in relation to teenagers’ online experiences. Data from a national survey of teenagers in the UK ( N = 789) are analyzed to examine: first, the demographic factors that influence skills in using the internet; and, second (the main focus of the study), to ask whether these skills make a difference to online opportunities and online risks. Consistent with research on the digital divide, path analysis showed the direct influence of age and socioeconomic status on young people’s access, the direct influence of age and access on their use of online opportunities, and the direct influence of gender on online risks. The importance of online skills was evident insofar as online access, use and skills were found to mediate relations between demographic variables and young people’s experience of online opportunities and risks. Further, an unexpected positive relationship between online opportunities and risks was found, with implications for policy interventions aimed at reducing the risks of internet use.
‘New media’ research publication trends and outlets in communication, 1990-2006
Authors: Tomasello Tami K. , Lee Youngwon , Baer April P.
Published: November 2009

Applying Fidler’s (1997) principles of mediamorphosis and Rogers’s (2003) diffusion of innovations, this study examines a 17-year timeframe to assess publication patterns in and outlets for new media research that examines the internet and related digital technologies within the communication discipline. The five primary findings reveal that: 1) publication of new media research continues to diffuse, with the subfield likely to have reached a critical mass and passed through an adoption ‘take off’ phase; 2) authors favor a concentrated set of title keyword terms to describe their research; 3) media-oriented journals publish approximately half of all new media articles; 4) a core set of 14 communication-related journals currently publishes new media research; and 5) the principles of mediamorphosis and diffusion of innovations help to explain the emergence of the new media concentration within the communication discipline. We conclude that new media research focusing on the internet and related digital technologies is currently a formalized and self-sustaining area of study within the discipline.
Rethinking media events: large screens, public space broadcasting and beyond
Authors: Mcquire Scott
Published: November 2009

The current deployment of large screens in city centre public spaces requires a substantial rethinking of our understanding of the relationship of media to urban space. Drawing on a case study of the Public Space Broadcasting project launched in the UK in 2003, this article argues that large screens have the potential to play a significant role in promoting public interaction. However, the realization of this potential requires a far-reaching investigation of the role of media in the construction of complex public spaces and diverse public cultures.
The ties that bind: the networked performance of gender, sexuality and friendship on MySpace
Authors: Van Doorn Niels
Published: November 2009

Although the body of research on social network sites (SNSs) continues to increase, scholarship in this relatively new field has largely neglected the gendered dimensions of networked interaction on SNSs. Through an empirical analysis of users’ comment exchanges, this study demonstrates how a group of interconnected ‘friends’ on MySpace engage in gendered and sexualized interactions through the use of various semiotic resources (i.e. text, images, video). In this particular network, articulations of affection are indiscriminatingly distributed among the friends, creating a flow of polymorphous desire in which the heteronormative gender binary is repeatedly transgressed. From a theoretical perspective, it is argued that Judith Butler’s notion of performativity is useful as an analytical lens when investigating these networked interactions. The examples illustrate how the friends make use of ironic and/or parodic citations in order to be recognized as a member of the group, performatively delineating and shaping their friends network.
An information commons? Creative Commons and public access to cultural creations
Authors: Garcelon Marc
Published: November 2009

The website Creative Commons went online in December 2002 to counter shifts towards an ‘intellectual property’ conception of copyright in American law dominant since the 1970s. This conception equates creative work with property per se, eclipsing the previously dominant American framework of copyright as a monopoly limited in duration. This legal shift in turn ties in with a concentration in the American media and fear among media corporations that the internet will undermine their dominant market position. Yet this very media concentration removes such issues from broadcast debates, a fact that combines with the complex technical nature of Creative Commons’ arguments to undermine public understanding of their position. By presenting a social history of the site and an overview of how it operates, the relation of the site’s work to media concentration and the future of representative democracy is clarified.
The question concerning (internet) time
Authors: Leong Susan , Mitew Teodor , Celletti Marta , Pearson Erika
Published: November 2009

Spatial representations, metaphors and imaginaries (cyberspace, web pages) have been the mainstay of internet research for a long time. Instead of repeating these themes, this article seeks to answer the question of how we might understand the concept of time in relation to internet research. After a brief excursus on the general history of the concept, this article proposes three different approaches to the conceptualization of internet time. The common thread underlying all the approaches is the notion of time as an assemblage of elements such as technical artefacts, social relations and metaphors. By drawing out time in this way, the article addresses the challenge of thinking of internet time as coexistence, a clash of fluxes, metaphors, lived experiences and assemblages. In other words, this article proposes a way to articulate internet time as a multiplicity.
At Home with “Real Americans”: Communicating Across the Urban/Rural and Black/White Divides in the 2008 Presidential Election
Authors: Ellis Carolyn
Published: November 2009

This ethnographic story seeks to reveal the complexity in talking across the urban/rural and Black/White divide in the 2008 Presidential Election.The story shows the tensions between feeling that an attempt to understand the other might help perpetuate the very intolerance we want to break through and feeling a responsibility to reach out and try to fashion a way out of prejudices and values with which we disagree. Is there a possibility for transformative dialogue and appreciative inquiry, where the four participants in this story might envision and generate a new, coconstructed reality, that all of them could believe in? Should that be our goal?
“Change” in a Post-Bush Era: Revolution or Maintaining the Neoliberal Legacy
Authors: Cannella Gaile S.
Published: November 2009

Under conditions in the USA in which hope has been generated by the election of a president of African descent, the author expresses concern that the neoliberal education policies of the past 20 years will not be changed and are not being questioned. Examples are provided that include the continued support for the privatization of public schools in post-Katrina New Orleans and the various ways that NCLB privileges capitalism.
Ending a Nightmare, Beginning a Dream: Reflections on the Outcomes of the Election
Authors: Miron Luis
Published: November 2009

This short piece provides a biographical insight into both the author’s high expectations for (now President) Barack Obama and the fears, if not disappointments early into his Administration. The author explains why he was biographically attracted to Obama’s persona and wonders how his deceased parents and grandmother would have voted.
An Actor Network Theory Translation of the Bush Legacy and the Obama Collectif
Authors: Kien Grant
Published: November 2009

Employing Actor-Network Theory as an analytical framework, this article explores presumptions of reality, power and authority expressed by the Bush collectif. The article demonstrates both successes and failures of the Bush administration's attempts to define the terms and contexts of its actions. The author discusses the Obama administration's success in building of a strong network of alliances and challenges towards its maintenance.
Medusa’s Stare: A Case Study of Working With Self-Disturbance in the Early Phase of Schizophrenia
Authors: Nelson Barnaby , Sass Louis A.
Published: November 2009

The present therapeutic case study demonstrates how concepts from phenomenological psychiatry can be applied to treatment of the early phase of schizophrenia. The case described here is of a 22-year-old man seen at a youth mental health service who experienced a catatonic episode with residual cognitive symptoms. The notion of a disturbed basic sense of self— based on the ipseity-hyperreflexivity model and the concept of ontological anxiety—formed the basis of the clinical formulation and treatment. These concepts highlight the patient’s vulnerabilities and difficulties in interpersonal contact. In addition they help to clarify potential dangers inherent in “objectifying” the patient, in stimulating excessive self-reflection, and in encouraging interpersonal engagement that is overly intense. Alternative strategies guided by a phenomenological appreciation of the centrality of a disturbed basic sense of self (disturbed ipseity) are described. These include certain forms of empathic understanding, including use of phenomenological concepts to help the patient comprehend their difficulties, encouraging a “second person” perspective, prominent use of the therapeutic relationship, and strategies that engender a form of immersion or absorption in present activity.
Progress Toward a Resurgence and Remodeling of Psychotherapy for Schizophrenia: Editors’ Introduction to Special Issue of Clinical Case Studies
Authors: Silverstein Steven M. , Lysaker Paul H.
Published: November 2009

This special issue of Clinical Case Studies focuses on recent developments in the psychotherapy of schizophrenia. Approaches such as these are needed to address the multiple rate-limiting factors for psychotherapy outcome in this population, such as poor insight, comorbid disorders, low motivation, cognitive impairments, and self and interpersonal disturbances. In this introductory article, each of the case studies is briefly reviewed, with the goals of: (a) noting how each therapeutic approach fills a gap in current practice, and (b) placing the focus of treatment within a larger context of relevant research on schizophrenia. Concluding comments note the implications of these multiple therapeutic developments for future psychological treatment of schizophrenia.
Addressing Metacognitive Capacity in the Psychotherapy for Schizophrenia: A Case Study
Authors: Buck Kelly D. , Lysaker Paul H.
Published: November 2009

Deficits in metacognition, that is, in the ability to think about one’s own thinking and the thinking of others, have been identified as a significant barrier to recovery from schizophrenia. While this has raised the possibility that individual psychotherapy might be focused to help persons with schizophrenia improve their capacity for metacognition, little has been written about what that might entail. To explore this issue, a case study is presented in which ongoing assessments of metacognition were used to guide the selection of interventions. Interventions were chosen in particular to match the client’s capacity for metacognition at that time and were conceptualized as offering maximal opportunities for the practice and development of metacognitive capacity. Improvements in function and the development of the ability to perform increasingly complex acts of metacognition are reported over the course of approximately 1.5 years of therapy and implications for research and theory are discussed.
Psychotherapy for Schizophrenia in an ACT Team Context
Authors: Smith Stephen M. , Yanos Philip T.
Published: November 2009

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and assertive community treatment (ACT) are two evidence-based approaches to the treatment of schizophrenia; nevertheless, the two approaches are rarely combined. In the present case study, we discuss the treatment of a man diagnosed with schizophrenia with severe social anxiety. CBT approaches were used and treatment was conducted within the context of ACT services. CBT and ACT were found to be complementary, and the combination of approaches was found to be effective helping to reduce the client’s social anxiety. Implications for the treatment of schizophrenia are discussed.
Controlling Memory Impairment in Elderly Adults Using Virtual Reality Memory Training: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study
Authors: Optale Gabriele , Urgesi Cosimo , Busato Valentina , Marin Silvia , Piron Lamberto , Priftis Konstantinos , Gamberini Luciano , Capodieci Salvatore , Bordin Adalberto
Published: November 2009

Background. Memory decline is a prevalent aspect of aging but may also be the first sign of cognitive pathology. Virtual reality (VR) using immersion and interaction may provide new approaches to the treatment of memory deficits in elderly individuals. Objective. The authors implemented a VR training intervention to try to lessen cognitive decline and improve memory functions. Methods. The authors randomly assigned 36 elderly residents of a rest care facility (median age 80 years) who were impaired on the Verbal Story Recall Test either to the experimental group (EG) or the control group (CG). The EG underwent 6 months of VR memory training (VRMT) that involved auditory stimulation and VR experiences in path finding. The initial training phase lasted 3 months (3 auditory and 3 VR sessions every 2 weeks), and there was a booster training phase during the following 3 months (1 auditory and 1 VR session per week). The CG underwent equivalent face-to-face training sessions using music therapy. Both groups participated in social and creative and assisted-mobility activities. Neuropsychological and functional evaluations were performed at baseline, after the initial training phase, and after the booster training phase. Results.The EG showed significant improvements in memory tests, especially in long-term recall with an effect size of 0.7 and in several other aspects of cognition. In contrast, the CG showed progressive decline. Conclusions . The authors suggest that VRMT may improve memory function in elderly adults by enhancing focused attention.
The Fastest Man Alive: Stasis and Speed in Contemporary Superhero Comics
Authors: Pedler Martyn
Published: November 2009

In the world of the superhero, action is everything. Focusing on DC Comic’s ‘Fastest Man Alive’, the Flash, this article examines the techniques used by comic book artists to animate the seemingly static images of superhero adventures. Taking its cue from superheroes’ success as the stars of recent action cinema, it takes cinematic theories of action and applies them to the comic page. The frozen poses of superhero splash-pages refute the supposed opposition of narrative and spectacle, while also bestowing perceptual mastery onto the reader. Superhero comics also use their elastic temporality — made possible by the peculiar spatial and temporal aspects of sequential art — for hyperbolic representations of the impossible. The Flash’s heroic feats are rendered through conceptual mechanisms for expressing motion existing within, and between, the panels.
Down syndrome acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a highly heterogeneous disease in which aberrant expression of CRLF2 is associated with mutated JAK2: a report from the International BFM Study Group
Authors: Hertzberg Libi , Vendramini Elena , Ganmore Ithamar , Cazzaniga Gianni , Schmitz Maike , Chalker Jane , Shiloh Ruth , Iacobucci Ilaria , Shochat Chen , Zeligson Sharon , Cario Gunnar , Stanulla Martin , Strehl Sabine , Russell Lisa J. , Harrison Christine J. , Bornhauser Beat , Yoda Akinori , Rechavi Gideon , Bercovich Dani , Borkhardt Arndt , Kempski Helena , te Kronnie Geertruy , Bourquin Jean-Pierre , Domany Eytan , Izraeli Shai
Published: November 2009

We report gene expression and other analyses to elucidate the molecular characteristics of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in children with Down syndrome (DS). We find that by gene expression DS-ALL is a highly heterogeneous disease not definable as a unique entity. Nevertheless, 62% (33/53) of the DS-ALL samples analyzed were characterized by high expression of the type I cytokine receptor CRLF2 caused by either immunoglobulin heavy locus (IgH@) translocations or by interstitial deletions creating chimeric transcripts P2RY8-CRLF2. In 3 of these 33 patients, a novel activating somatic mutation, F232C in CRLF2, was identified. Consistent with our previous research, mutations in R683 of JAK2 were identified in 10 specimens (19% of the patients) and, interestingly, all 10 had high CRLF2 expression. Cytokine receptor-like factor 2 (CRLF2) and mutated Janus kinase 2 (Jak2) cooperated in conferring cytokine-independent growth to BaF3 pro-B cells. Intriguingly, the gene expression signature of DS-ALL is enriched with DNA damage and BCL6 responsive genes, suggesting the possibility of B-cell lymphocytic genomic instability. Thus, DS confers increased risk for genetically highly diverse ALLs with frequent overexpression of CRLF2, associated with activating mutations in the receptor itself or in JAK2. Our data also suggest that the majority of DS children with ALL may benefit from therapy blocking the CRLF2/JAK2 pathways.
Lenalidomide treatment promotes CD154 expression on CLL cells and enhances production of antibodies by normal B cells through a PI3-kinase–dependent pathway
Authors: Lapalombella Rosa , Andritsos Leslie , Liu Qing , May Sarah E. , Browning Rebekah , Pham Lan V. , Blum Kristie A. , Blum William , Ramanunni Asha , Raymond Chelsey A. , Smith Lisa L. , Lehman Amy , Mo Xiaokui , Jarjoura David , Chen Ching-Shih , Ford Richard , Rader Christoph , Muthusamy Natarajan , Johnson Amy J. , Byrd John C.
Published: November 2009

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) involves a profound humoral immune defect and tumor-specific humoral tolerance that directly contribute to disease morbidity and mortality. CD154 gene therapy can reverse this immune defect, but attempts to do this pharmacologically have been unsuccessful. The immune-modulatory agent lenalidomide shows clinical activity in CLL, but its mechanism is poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that lenalidomide induces expression of functional CD154 antigen on CLL cells both in vitro and in vivo. This occurs via enhanced CD154 transcription mediated by a Nuclear Factor of Activated T cells c1 (NFATc1)/Nuclear Factor-κB (NF-κB) complex and also through phosphoinositide-3 (PI3)–kinase pathway-dependent stabilization of CD154 mRNA. Importantly, CD154-positive CLL cells up-regulate BID, DR5, and p73, become sensitized to tumor necrosis factor–related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL)–mediated apoptosis, and promote costimulatory activation of normal B cells to produce antibodies. In CLL patients receiving lenalidomide, similar evidence of CD154 activation is observed including BID, DR5, and p73 induction and also development of anti-ROR1 tumor-directed antibodies. Our data demonstrate that lenalidomide promotes CD154 expression on CLL cells with subsequent activation phenotype, and may therefore reverse the humoral immune defect observed in this disease. This study is registered at http://clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00466895.
Human cytomegalovirus UL76 induces chromosome aberrations
Authors: Siew Voon-Kwan , Duh Chang-Yih , Wang Shang-Kwei
Published: November 2009

Background

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is known to induce chromosome aberrations in infected cells, which can lead to congenital abnormalities in infected fetuses. HCMV UL76 belongs to a conserved protein family from herpesviruses. Some reported roles among UL76 family members include involvement in virulence determination, lytic replication, reactivation of latent virus, modulation of gene expression, induction of apoptosis, and perturbation of cell cycle progression, as well as potential nuclease activity. Previously, we have shown that stable expression of UL76 inhibits HCMV replication in glioblastoma cells.

Methods

To examine chromosomal integrity and the DNA damage signal γ-H2AX in cells constitutively expressing UL76, immunofluorescent cell staining and Western blotting were performed. The comet assay was employed to assess DNA breaks in cells transiently expressing UL76.

Results

We report that stably transfected cells expressing UL76 developed chromosome aberrations including micronuclei and misaligned chromosomes, lagging and bridging. In mitotic cells expressing UL76, aberrant spindles were increased compared to control cells. However, cells with supernumerary centrosomes were marginally increased in UL76-expressing cells relative to control cells. We further demonstrated that UL76-expressing cells activated the DNA damage signal γ-H2AX and caused foci formation in nuclei. In addition, the number of cells with DNA breaks increased in proportion to UL76 protein levels.

Conclusion

Our findings suggest that the virus-associated protein UL76 induces DNA damage and the accumulation of chromosome aberrations.
Hepatitis B vaccinations among Koreans: Results from 2005 Korea National Cancer Screening Survey
Authors: Juon Hee-Soon , Choi Kui Son , Park Eun-Cheol , Kwak Min-Son , Lee Sunmin
Published: November 2009

Background

Liver cancer is one of most commonly diagnosed cancers among Koreans. Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major risk factor for liver cancer. HBV infection can be prevented by effective screening and vaccination programs. The purpose of this study is to examine the status of HBV infection and the predictors associated with HBV vaccination.

Methods

The study population was derived from the 2005 Korea National Cancer Screening Survey (KNCSS). The KNCSS is an annual cross-sectional survey that uses a nationally-representative random sampling to investigate cancer screening rates. A total of 1,786 Koreans over 40 years of age participated in this study.

Results

Of all the participants, 5.9% reported HBV positive (HBsAg+, HBsAb-), 41.8% were HBV negative but protected (HBsAg-, HBsAb+), and 52.3% were unprotected (HBsAg-, HBsAb-). Among unprotected individuals (n = 934), 23.1% reported to have received the vaccination. About half of those who had vaccinations completed the 3-shot vaccine series. In multiple analyses, education, having private cancer insurance, alcohol use, having regular check-up, and doing regular exercise were associated with completed HBV vaccination.

Conclusion

This study result suggests that we need a liver cancer education program to increase HBV awareness and to increase the liver cancer prevention message among low educated populations.