bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Sexuate difference in a time of terror
Authors: Mortensen Ellen
Published: February 2014

This paper argues for the benefits of approaching the terrorist attacks executed by Anders Behring Breivik in Norway on 22 July 2011 from the perspective of Luce Irigaray’s philosophy. In Breivik’s right-wing manifesto 2083, he identifies the triumvirate cultural Marxism, Islam and feminism as the main culprits for Europe’s decay. Despite arguing for the superiority of the white European race, and the dangers of immigration and religious plurality for Europe’s future, Breivik denies the value of difference, be it sexual, cultural or religious. This paper finds support in Irigaray’s philosophy when arguing that, in this respect, Breivik’s extremist ideology operates in alignment with Western metaphysics that posits the masculine European subject as ‘the lord of the earth’, who denies all differences other than the ones hailed by male, white, Christian supremacists. In Norway, the dangers that Breivik and his allies represent are real, given that academics are being targeted and threatened.
The time of radical autonomous thinking and social-historical becoming in Castoriadis
Authors: Nicolacopoulos Toula , Vassilacopoulos George
Published: February 2014

This paper examines Castoriadis’ concept of time as ontological creation in relation to the activation of the project of autonomy. We argue that since Castoriadis presents as a practitioner of the creation of time as radical autonomous thinking, this is the standpoint from which to assess his claims. Through an examination of Castoriadis’ claim that the practice of autonomy depends upon it being activated by a willing singularity who accepts the Chaos of society and of the world, we argue that Castoriadis’ position presupposes an effective contrast between the autonomy of significance that he advocates and the heteronomy of insignificance that he laments. If, as we suggest, both these orientations accept the Groundlessness of the world, then Castoriadis’ appeal to the awareness of a willing singularity is not sufficient to distinguish the practice of radical autonomy. To this extent, his elucidation of the radical imaginary time of ontological creation remains incomplete.
Effect of laser welding on mechanical properties of 70/30 Cu-Ni alloy welds
Authors: Chakravarthy MP , Ramanaiah N , Sundara Siva Rao BSK
Published: February 2014

This article reveals the influence of laser welding process parameter, welding speed, on the mechanical and metallurgical properties of 3.5 kW CO2 laser machine welded joints of 70/30 Cu-Ni alloys. Laser welded joints were fabricated using different welding speeds of 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5 m/min. The mechanical properties (hardness, tensile strength, and percentage elongation) of the welded joints were evaluated and correlated with the fusion zone microstructure. Optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy were used to evaluate the metallurgical characteristics of the welded joints. The joints fabricated using a welding speed of 1.5 m/min exhibited fine, equiaxed, and uniformly distributed grains at fusion zone and resulted in superior mechanical properties than other joints.
Thrust control of tethered satellite with a short constant tether in orbital maneuvering
Authors: Zhao Guowei , Sun Liang , Huang Hai
Published: February 2014

Tethered satellite with chemical propulsion has broad application prospects in the space debris removal, the orbital transfer of space detector and the orbital rescue of malfunctioning satellite. In orbital maneuvering, tethered satellite with a short constant tether can avoid using certain windlass mechanism of base satellite, which is helpful for the implementation of project. In this article, based on a dumbbell model of tethered satellite, dynamic equations of tethered system in orbital maneuvering are established. Furthermore, taking elastic strain of the tether into account in the dynamic model, as the slackness of tether occurs, the effects on tethered satellite of the degree of slackness, initial states of librational angles and the variation of thrust acceleration are analyzed. To avoid several adverse phenomena aroused by the slackness of tether, such as tether winding or collision between satellites, a thrust control method of tethered satellite with a short constant tether in orbital maneuvering is proposed. In this method, the thrust acceleration imposed on the base satellite can be adjusted to avoid the slackness of tether and damp out the librational angles; meanwhile, it is required that the regulating value of thrust acceleration meets with accuracy requirements of orbital trajectory in practical engineering; therefore, a continuous thrust controller is presented based on the feedback of tether tension; besides, considering in practical engineering that the continuous thrust is always replaced by an impulse thrust, the ranges of impulse thrust parameters, such as impulse width and duty cycle, are studied. Afterwards, an orbital transfer case between two circular orbits is studied to demonstrate the effectiveness of the tethered satellite with a short constant tether in orbital maneuvering. In this case, an orbital transfer strategy for tethered satellite is designed based on a continuous thrust. Numerical simulation results show that the slackness of tether can be eliminated and the librational angles are damped out according to the thrust control scheme in orbital maneuvering; in addition, the stability of tethered system could be guaranteed by the designed thrust controller, which is useful for flight safety.
Positive Thinking About the Future in Newspaper Reports and Presidential Addresses Predicts Economic Downturn
Authors: Sevincer A. Timur , Wagner Greta , Kalvelage Johanna , Oettingen Gabriele
Published: February 2014

Previous research has shown that positive thinking, in the form of fantasies about an idealized future, predicts low effort and poor performance. In the studies reported here, we used computerized content analysis of historical documents to investigate the relation between positive thinking about the future and economic development. During the financial crisis from 2007 to 2009, the more weekly newspaper articles in the economy page of USA Today contained positive thinking about the future, the more the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined in the subsequent week and 1 month later. In addition, between the New Deal era and the present time, the more presidential inaugural addresses contained positive thinking about the future, the more the gross domestic product and the employment rate declined in the presidents’ subsequent tenures. These counterintuitive findings may help reveal the psychological processes that contribute to an economic crisis.
Cosmopolitanism united by electricity and sport: James Gordon Bennett Jnr and the Paris Herald as sites of internationalism and cultural mediation in belle époque France
Authors: Dauncey Hugh , Hare Geoff
Published: February 2014

Proprietor and director of the Paris Herald newspaper, James Gordon Bennett Jnr (1841−1918) was a key agent in the development of international sporting competitions during the belle époque, promoted and mediatised by the Herald. This international newspaper, managed by an American representative of a growing upper-class society of affluent expatriates in Europe, was a key site of ‘internationalism’, merging its owner’s fascination with sport and technological progress, especially in mechanised sport, with the facilitation of an ‘imagined community’ of the leisured elite who attended and participated in these prestigious sports events and recognised shared values in the newspaper itself. The study of Bennett and the Paris Herald using Geyer and Paulmann’s theoretisations (2001) of ‘sites of internationalism’, and Lamizet’s conceptualisations (2000a, 2000b) of ‘cultural mediation’ and of the ‘passeur culturel’ (2005) reveal how sport and the media interacted during the 1890s and 1900s in the Herald in the development of internationalised sport and society.
Les banlieues and Les Bleus: Political and media discourse about sport and society in France
Authors: Ervine Jonathan
Published: February 2014

Focusing on the French national football team during the period 1998–2013, this article will trace the evolution of political and media discourses about sport and society in France. It will analyse how the team, and its relationship to France’s banlieues and French society as a whole, has been perceived by journalists, politicians, public intellectuals and sociologists after both notable successes and significant failures. Although the World Cup victory of 1998 and spectacular failure at the World Cup in South Africa in 2010 may initially seem to occupy different ends of a spectrum, it will be argued that there are also important continuities in the period 1998–2013 that illuminate the study of relations between sport, media, and the political and intellectual elites in France.
Introduction
Authors: Dauncey Hugh , Ervine Jonathan , Kilcline Cathal
Published: February 2014

This special issue deals with a range of sporting activities and discourses and discusses structural evolutions in media − specifically how these evolutions have influenced the development of sports as practice and spectacle. Moreover, these articles consider how different forms of media have contributed to the construction of identities of sportswomen and sportsmen in France and the Francophone world, and also how media representations of sport and sporting icons have contributed to and been influenced by wider debates about (national) identity and ideas of community. This collection will analyse local, national and transnational contexts in which relations between sports media and identity have evolved, and are still evolving, in France and the Francophone world.
Investigation into the flow behavior of multi-stage brush seals
Authors: Qiu Bo , Li Jun , Yan Xin
Published: February 2014

Brush seals have found increasing use in turbomachinery within the past decade due to their superior sealing performance and flexible nature. The flow characteristics and fundamental behavior of single brush seal are known. However, the flow behavior of multi-stage brush seal combined with labyrinth teeth still requires further research. This article presents a detailed investigation into flow behavior of multi-stage brush seal combined with labyrinth teeth for turbine applications. The leakage rate through a two-stage brush seal combined with labyrinth teeth was measured using the rotating test rig at three operating clearances and four rotational speeds. The leakage rate through the seal was also numerically predicted using Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes solutions coupled with non-Darcian porous medium approach. To predict the seal leakage more accurately, the clearance reduction resulted from rotor centrifugal growth was considered in brush seal flow calculations. The effects of rotational speeds and sealing clearance on the leakage performance of the two-stage brush seal were evaluated based on the experimental and numerical results. In addition, to obtain an insight into flow mechanisms of multi-stage brush seals, the leakage rate, flow field, pressure distribution of bristle pack, and aerodynamic force acting on bristle pack of four different types of multi-stage brush seals were also analyzed and compared.
Application of artificial neural networks to weighted interval Kalman filtering
Authors: Motwani Amit , Sharma Sanjay K , Sutton Robert , Culverhouse Phil
Published: February 2014

The interval Kalman filter is a variant of the traditional Kalman filter for systems with bounded parametric uncertainty. For such systems, modelled in terms of intervals, the interval Kalman filter provides estimates of the system state also in the form of intervals, guaranteed to contain the Kalman filter estimates of all point-valued systems contained in the interval model. However, for practical purposes, a single, point-valued estimate of the system state is often required. This point value can be seen as a weighted average of the interval bounds provided by the interval Kalman filter. This article proposes a methodology based on the application of artificial neural networks by which an adequate weight can be computed at each time step, whereby the weighted average of the interval bounds approximates the optimal estimate or estimate which would be obtained using a Kalman filter if no parametric uncertainty was present in the system model, even when this is not the case. The practical applicability and robustness of the method are demonstrated through its application to the navigation of an uninhabited surface vehicle.
The politics of buzzwords at the interface of technoscience, market and society: The case of ‘public engagement in science’
Authors: Bensaude Vincent Bernadette
Published: February 2014

Emerging technologies such as genomics, nanotechnology, and converging technologies are surrounded by a constellation of fashionable stereotyped phrases such as ‘public engagement in science’, ‘responsible innovation’, ‘green technology’, or ‘personalised medicine’. Buzzwords are ubiquitous and used ad libitum by science policy makers, industrial companies in their advertisements, scientists in their research proposals, and journalists. Despite their proliferation in the language of scientific and technological innovation, these buzzwords have attracted little attention among science studies scholars. The purpose of this paper is to try to understand if, and how buzzwords shape the technoscientific landscape. What do they perform? What do they reveal? What do they conceal? Based on a case study of the phrase ‘public engagement in science’, this paper describes buzzwords as linguistic technologies, capable of three major performances: buzzwords generate matters of concern and play an important role in trying to build consensus; they set attractive goals and agendas; they create unstable collectives through noise.
University–Industry R&D Collaboration in Korea’s National Innovation System
Authors: Lee Kong-Rae
Published: February 2014

This article investigates R&D collaboration between universities and firms by looking at R&D outsourcing of private firms to universities and vice versa. It was found that universities are an important research partner of private firms, although industrialists often do not trust the research capabilities of universities. It is evident that universities are accustomed to receiving agents rather than giving agents in R&D activities. This fact implies that a give-and-take culture should be cultivated in universities in order to develop university–industry R&D collaboration. It may bring about university-generated cooperative R&D with private firms if universities contract out more of their research projects to private firms.

The results of our study also revealed that government policies to promote university–industry R&D cooperation have been strengthening. Two cases of government policy programmes showed that policy targets, especially to promote university–industry R&D collaboration, tend to be included not only in incumbent policy programmes but also in newly designed policy programmes. The government R&D budget has been increasingly allocated to specific policy programmes focusing on interdisciplinary cooperative R&D activities between universities and private firms.
Information Technology Services: A Key Knowledge-Intensive Business Service Industry in Hong Kong SAR, China
Authors: Hu Mei-Chih , Sharif Naubahar , Baark Erik
Published: February 2014

As the global economy focuses increasingly on Asia, Hong Kong’s role as an intermediary between China and the rest of the world merits investigation. In view of the increasing importance of knowledge-based business services and Hong Kong’s recent drive to promote innovation and high-tech services, economists and policy makers must understand Hong Kong’s capacity to support economic development in the Asian region. Following a theoretically informed discussion of the role of information technology (IT) services within the broader category of knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS), Hong Kong’s IT services sector is described and analysed to determine its potential for supporting an innovative local services environment and to identify the key opportunities and challenges involved in further developing the sector. In-depth interviews of important actors in the IT services sector in Hong Kong and case studies of firms that have leveraged IT services supplement our analysis of data on IT service production and usage. IT services represents an opportunity through which Hong Kong can use targeted policy to drive growth and expand and deepen economic relations with Mainland China.
Role of the Indian Supreme Court in Shaping Technology Development
Authors: Chowdhury Nupur
Published: February 2014

Public interest litigation questioning risk regulation of emerging technologies has been a mechanism through which the Supreme Court has become increasingly involved in the national narrative on technology, development, risk and the role of the state. Such litigations include biotechnology and nuclear technology which have also been identified as important ingredients of the national development agenda. This is similar to other developing countries where identification of emerging technologies that help the economy leapfrog, have become part of the development agenda. Understandably the focus of the state is on development rather than on risk regulation. This has attracted considerable criticism from civil society groups and legal challenges to the regulatory framework. The Supreme Court despite its stated lack of competence to understand and address technological issues and its innate restraint to comment on what it deems to be policy matters, has been forced to address issues of risk regulation and in the process play a critical role in constituting the technology and shaping the imagination of that technology within the national narrative. The aim of this article is to examine and evaluate the role of the Supreme Court in this context through an analysis of two case studies of nuclear technology and biotechnology.
Public opinion, immigration and welfare in the context of uncertainty
Authors: Artiles Antonio Martín , Meardi Guglielmo
Published: February 2014

European citizens are largely unfavourable to immigration. These restrictive attitudes are linked to such factors as the unemployment rate and risk of poverty, as well as to competition for employment and welfare resources. Refuting insider/outsider theories, this article shows, via an analysis of recent European Social Surveys, that national social protection policies can reduce hostility towards immigration, insofar as they moderate social inequality and the risk of poverty. Ethnic and racial differences are problematic for the ‘egalitarian compromise’ underpinning the welfare state. Nonetheless, strong trade unions and social protection policies are associated with greater integration of immigrants. Over time, the future sustainability of welfare systems may depend on the participation of immigrants as a political force, making their integration even more important.
Inspiration and decision-making: A case study of a composer’s intuitive and reflective thought
Authors: Pohjannoro Ulla
Published: February 2014

This article reports a qualitative exploratory case study of a composer’s compositional inspiration, thinking, and decision-making. The aim was to explore the dynamics and functions of intuitive and reflective modes of thinking, thus expanding the recent trend in composition research, which has given increasing attention to implicit, imaginative, and inspirational aspects of composition. The data of the study were collected in natural settings in the composer’s work studio during the compositional process. The data comprised stimulated recall interviews, as well as all of the manuscripts that the composer wrote concerning the process under scrutiny. The findings indicate the saliency of the composer’s germinal ideas into the compositional process. The composer elaborated, transcribed, and embodied his multimodal ideas, step-by-step, into musical passages of the evolving score. The process comprised two core procedures. First, compositional thinking was manifested as concrete representations, i.e., the manuscripts. Second, intuitive aspirations entered the conscious mind and subsequently opened themselves up for reflective processes. Two dilemmas were identified in defining the composer’s uncertain and complex working circumstances. The strategic and ontological dimensions of compositional decision-making were identified. The study produced a thick description of what is probably the most complicated phenomenon of musical behaviour: composing outside the confines of a laboratory environment. It explicated compositional thinking as continuous and appropriate fluctuations of intuitive and reflective ideation, monitored by metacognitive function. It also presented a detailed analysis of the dynamics of problem accumulation, i.e., the way the composer decided not to decide, which originated from the composer’s ill-defined working circumstances and his ethos of seeking coherence and employing constructionist aesthetics.
Paramedics’ Experiences and Coping Strategies When Encountering Critical Incidents
Authors: Avraham Nira , Goldblatt Hadass , Yafe Eli
Published: February 2014

Paramedics frequently encounter critical incidents (CIs). Their emotional, cognitive, and behavioral responses to these encounters present them with a variety of difficulties on the way to, during, and after events. The aim of our study was to examine how paramedics working in a large emergency service organization in Israel experienced CIs and the coping strategies they used to deal with these experiences. We interviewed 15 paramedics from this organization. Through data analysis, we revealed two main themes: (1) between connection and detachment and (2) between control and lack of control of the situation. Paramedics, who connected with their feelings regarding the patient and/or the family in different CIs, as well as those who sensed a lack of control, experienced difficult and negative emotions. To achieve detachment, they used a variety of coping strategies. Those who experienced cognitive and functional control of the situation reported a positive and empowering experience.
Constant Negotiating
Authors: Smith-Young Joanne , Solberg Shirley , Gaudine Alice
Published: February 2014

We used grounded theory to explore processes and strategies used by workers affected by work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) while they remained in the workplace, and we developed a theory to describe the overall process. Participants included 25 workers affected by WMSDs who were currently employed in various workplaces in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The theoretical model has five main phases: (a) becoming concerned, (b) getting medical help, (c) dealing with the workplace, (d) making adjustments to lifestyle, and (e) taking charge, each with separate subphases. Constant negotiating was the core variable that explained the overall process, with workers engaged in negotiations with others in occupational, health, and social contexts. Using a two-dimensional figure, we illustrate the negotiation strategies workers used. We discuss implications for health care, workplaces, education, and research for creating a culture of understanding and respect for injured workers who wish to remain working after developing WMSDs.
Product lifecycle management in design and engineering education: International perspectives
Authors: Fielding Emanuela AS , McCardle John R , Eynard Benoit , Hartman Nathan , Fraser Alister
Published: February 2014

Technological advances in the last decade have influenced changes in the design and engineering industries on a global scale. Lean and collaborative product development are approaches increasingly adopted by the industry and seen as the core of product lifecycle management. These trends have created the need for new skilled professionals, and universities should adapt their curricula in response. There is an increased need for academia to work with industry in order to meet these challenges. This article reports on the Parametric Technology Corporation Academic Research Symposium held in April 2011. The topics were centred around understanding the essence of product lifecycle management and its impact on design and engineering education. Furthermore, examples of implementing product lifecycle management and collaborative practices in higher education were presented from the United States and France. This article concludes with a discussion of the recommendations made at the symposium for the future development and support of key skills across university curricula.
Evaluation of the Psychometric Properties of Two Short Forms of the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale and the Social Phobia Scale
Authors: Le Blanc Allura L. , Bruce Laura C. , Heimberg Richard G. , Hope Debra A. , Blanco Carlos , Schneier Franklin R. , Liebowitz Michael R.
Published: February 2014

The Social Interaction Anxiety Scale and Social Phobia Scale are widely used measures of social anxiety. Using data from individuals with social anxiety disorder ( n = 435) and nonanxious controls ( n = 86), we assessed the psychometric properties of two independently developed short forms of these scales. Indices of convergent and discriminant validity, diagnostic specificity, sensitivity to treatment, and readability were examined. Comparisons of the two sets of short forms to each other and the original long forms were conducted. Both sets of scales demonstrated adequate internal consistency in the patient sample, showed expected patterns of correlation with measures of related and unrelated constructs, adequately discriminated individuals with social anxiety disorder from those without, and showed decreases in scores over the course of cognitive-behavioral therapy and/or pharmacotherapy. However, some significant differences in scale performance were noted. Implications for the clinical assessment of social anxiety are discussed.
An investigation of tool wear using acoustic emission and genetic algorithm
Authors: Vetrichelvan G , Sundaram S , Kumaran S Senthil , Velmurugan P
Published: February 2014

Numerous developments have been witnessing in manufacturing industries the ability of the machines to change the tools automatically during their wear or damage. In general, tool failure contributes about 7% to the down time of machine centers. Therefore, online monitoring of tool wear is an important phenomenon in producing quality products at reasonable cost. This also increases the production rate in the industries. Tool condition monitoring using the acoustic emission technique (AET) are real methods identified by researchers for online quality assessment of machine tools. The genetic algorithm (GA) is used to optimize the tool wear rate parameters. The practical significance of applying GA to tool wear rate has been validated by means of computing the deviation between predicted and experimentally obtained process parameters. Based on this research work, an experimental setup has been developed for online monitoring of a single point cutting tool using AETs. The experimental tool wear rate results are compared with online measurements using mean acoustic emission parameters (average value, root mean square value and area).
Effect of 1-methylcyclopropene on shelf life, visual quality and nutritional quality of netted melon
Authors: Shi Y , Wang BL , Shui DJ , Cao LL , Wang C , Yang T , Wang XY , Ye HX
Published: February 2014

The effects of 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) on shelf life, fruit visual quality and nutritional quality were investigated. Netted melons were treated with air (control) and 0.6 µl l−1 1-MCP at 25 ℃ for 24 h, and then stored at 25 ℃ or 10 ℃ for 10 days. 1-MCP significantly extended the shelf life, inhibited weight loss and delayed firmness decline of melon fruits. Ethylene production was also inhibited and respiration rate was declined. 1-MCP retarded 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) increases and inhibited ACC synthase and ACC oxidase activity. Moreover, 1-MCP treatment reduced the decrease in total soluble solids and titratable acidity, as well as the decrease of the content of sugars (sucrose, fructose and glucose). These results indicated that 1-MCP treatment is a good method to extend melon shelf life and maintain fruit quality, and the combination of 1-MCP and low temperature storage resulted in more acceptable fruit quality.
Strong and Silent
Authors: Inckle Kay
Published: February 2014

Self-injury is commonly reported to be primarily a female experience and rare among males. However, contemporary research suggests that this may not be the case and that male self-injury may be equally common but less recognized. I suggest that the invisibility of male self-injury results from the structures of normative gender that define “mental illness,” vulnerability, and distress behaviors through traditional masculinity and femininity. These structures impede the recognition of male self-injury and mitigate against the provision of appropriate support and male help-seeking. In this article, I focus in depth on the experiences of three men who participated in a small-scale qualitative research project exploring self-injury from a participant-centered ethos. This provides a step toward redressing the silence regarding male self-injury and exploring the issues that emerge from attending to male experiences. It also highlights the need for further gender sensitive research, theory, and practice.
Evaluation of an in-house dot enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to detect antibodies against feline panleukopenia virus
Authors: Mende Katherina , Stuetzer Bianca , Truyen Uwe , Hartmann Katrin
Published: February 2014

Measuring antibody titres to determine a cat’s immunity to core diseases instead of just administering annual vaccinations has not been established in Germany so far. An in-house test kit for the detection of antibodies against feline panleukopenia virus (FPV), feline herpesvirus-1 and feline calicivirus – the ImmunoComb Feline VacciCheck – is now available in several European countries. The aim of this study was to assess the quality of the ImmunoComb Feline VacciCheck to determine antibodies by comparing it to a gold standard. The test is aimed for use in practice to assist decision-making when performing an individual health assessment to see whether a cat is potentially unprotected against FPV and requires FPV vaccination. Sera from 347 cats were included in the study. For antibody detection, haemagglutination inhibition (HI) was performed as gold standard. Sensitivity, specificity and positive and negative predictive values of the ImmunoComb Feline VacciCheck were determined for three different HI titre cut-off points (1:20, 1:40, 1:80). In comparison to the HI, the ImmunoComb Feline VacciCheck showed a sensitivity of 79%, 83% and 87%, and a specificity of 89%, 86% and 81%, respectively. Specificity of the ImmunoComb Feline VacciCheck, which was considered the most important parameter, was acceptable in comparison to HI. Especially when considering an antibody titre of 1:20 sufficient for protection (eg, in an adult animal), the ImmunoComb Feline VacciCheck can be recommended for use in veterinary practice.
Dermatophilus congolensis in a feral cat
Authors: Barger Anne M , Weedon G Robert , Maddox Carol W , Galloway Kimberly A
Published: February 2014

A young adult feral cat presented to the Champaign County Humane Society with a subcutaneous mass near the stifle. The mass was aspirated. Chains of paired cocci organisms were identified, consistent with Dermatophilus congolensis. The identity of these organisms was confirmed by culture and polymerase chain reaction.
Understanding the meaning of low airfare and satisfaction among leisure air travellers using Malaysian low-cost airlines
Authors: Chan Jennifer Kim Lian
Published: February 2014

This study is aimed at understanding the meaning of low airfare and satisfaction from the existing Malaysian low-cost airline travellers. It examines the extent to which low airfare and satisfaction influenced the positive purchase behaviour of travellers. Participant observation and in-depth interviewing were used as data collection methods at the low-cost airline terminals in Malaysia. The findings revealed that low airfare means ‘cheap price paid’, ‘low level of service and performance’ and ‘mode of transportation’ during non-price promotional periods and ‘value for money’ during promotional periods. Customer satisfaction means meeting low expectations toward service performance and positive mood and social connectedness attributed to satisfaction, and dissatisfaction is found to be non-durable. Crowd, seating space and cramped aircraft cabins negatively affect satisfaction. The finding implicates pricing and marketing strategies for low-cost airlines and adds to the existing literature on price promotion and satisfaction of low-cost airline travellers.
Gratitude and longing: Meanings of health in aging for Puerto Rican adults in the mainland
Authors: Todorova Irina LG , Guzzardo Mariana T , Adams Wallis E , Falcón Luis M
Published: February 2014

Puerto Rican adults in the United States mainland live with socioeconomic and health disparities. To understand their contextual experience of aging, we interviewed participants in the Boston Puerto Rican Health Study. Through a Thematic Analysis we identify themes and tensions: normalization and acceptance of aging; gratitude; the importance of aging within social networks; longing to return to Puerto Rico at older age. We address the tensions between ‘acceptance’ and fatalismo as a cultural belief, and a function of structural barriers. The experience of aging is discussed in the context of Puerto Rico’s history and continued dependence on the United States.
Cognitive predictors of limited health literacy in adults with heterogeneous socioeconomic backgrounds
Authors: Apolinario Daniel , Mansur Leticia L , Carthery-Goulart Maria T , Brucki Sonia MD , Nitrini Ricardo
Published: February 2014

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between health literacy and specific cognitive abilities in hospital users. A neuropsychological battery was administered and the Short Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults was used to classify individuals as having adequate or limited functional health literacy. Of the 322 participants, 102 (31.7%) presented limited health literacy. Even after adjusting for demographics, years of education, and quality of education, health literacy was strongly associated with measures of cognitive performance, but the strength of association was variable across different cognitive abilities.
Aggression in children with autism spectrum disorders and a clinic-referred comparison group
Authors: Farmer Cristan , Butter Eric , Mazurek Micah O , Cowan Charles , Lainhart Janet , Cook Edwin H , DeWitt Mary Beth , Aman Michael
Published: February 2014

A gap exists in the literature regarding aggression in autism spectrum disorders and how this behavior compares to other groups. In this multisite study, the Children’s Scale for Hostility and Aggression: Reactive/Proactive and the Aggression subscale of the Child Behavior Checklist were rated for 414 children with autism spectrum disorder (autistic disorder, 69%; pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified, 24%; Asperger’s disorder, 7%) and 243 clinic-referred children without autism spectrum disorder, aged 1–21 years (mean age about 7 years). Participants were not selected for aggressive behavior. Relative to the comparison group, children with autism spectrum disorder were reported to have less aggression and were more likely to be rated as reactive rather than proactive. Among all subjects, sex was not associated with aggression; higher IQ/adaptive behavior and older age were associated with more sophisticated types of aggression, while lower scores on IQ, adaptive behavior, and communication measures were associated with more physical aggression. The interaction between demographic variables and diagnosis was significant only for age: younger but not older children with autism spectrum disorder showed less aggression than clinic-referred controls.
Polyamory: Intimate practice, identity or sexual orientation?
Authors: Klesse Christian
Published: February 2014

Polyamory means different things to different people. While some consider polyamory to be nothing more than a convenient label for their current relationship constellations or a handy tool for communicating their willingness to enter more than one relationship at a time, others claim it as one of their core identities. Essentialist identity narratives have sustained recent arguments that polyamory is best understood as a sexual orientation and is as such comparable with homosexuality, heterosexuality or bisexuality. Such a move would render polyamory intelligible within dominant political and legal frameworks of sexual diversity. The article surveys academic and activist discussions on sexual orientation and traces contradictory voices in current debates on polyamory. The author draws on poststructuralist ideas to show the shortcomings of sexual orientation discourses and highlights the losses which are likely to follow from pragmatic definitions of polyamory as sexual orientation.
Troubling the waters of a ‘wave of homophobia’: Political economies of anti-queer animus in sub-Saharan Africa
Authors: Thoreson Ryan Richard
Published: February 2014

During the debate over Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill in 2009 and 2010, journalists and activists warned of a ‘wave of homophobia’ in sub-Saharan Africa. In this article, I illustrate how this trope elides critical differences between contemporaneous incidents. I suggest that forms of anti-queer animus instead might be understood as the products of political economies, and use that approach to distinguish the Anti-Homosexuality Bill in Uganda, the arrest of Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza in Malawi, and the efflorescence of anti-LGBTI persecution in Senegal. A situated understanding of the political economies that generate these incidents enriches activist responses, and raises critical questions about solidarity and responsibility for activists and theorists alike.
It’s a question of breeding: Visualizing queer masculinity in bareback pornography
Authors: Lee Byron
Published: February 2014

Gay bareback pornographic films featuring men engaging in condomless anal intercourse draw criticism from scholars, public health advocates, and even other pornographic filmmakers because of concerns that the rates of unprotected sex and STI—namely HIV—transmission will increase if gay men watch them. This article examines how bareback pornographic films by Treasure Island Media (TIM) present visual narratives of gendered pleasure and desire by reframing the cum shot and focusing on ejaculate rather than ejaculation. TIM films show masculinity as athletic, risky, and sacred. Though these are recognizable, normative frames of masculinity, TIM films visibly articulate queer erotics and bodies in queer(ed) activity.
Race and desire in the porno-tropics: Ethnographic perspectives from the post-colony
Authors: Hendriks Thomas
Published: February 2014

In this article I explore the limits of Anne McClintock’s conceptualization of the ‘porno-tropics’ as a concept to understand the everyday lives of an isolated group of European expatriates working for a logging company in the Congolese rainforest. Based on long-term ethnographic research, I give a reading of two sets of images I encountered during my fieldwork – a soft-erotic calendar and a hardcore porn site – to come to a better understanding of the actual discourses and practices of interracial sex along the racial divide. To get a grip on the economy of desire at my fieldwork site, I focus on two figures who are largely overlooked by McClintock’s analysis: the continuing influence of the white woman as an ‘absent presence’ in the post-colony and the ambiguous presence of the black man as both an emasculating body and a resource in the construction of ‘white’ masculinities.
Beyond a single story: The importance of separating ‘harm’ from ‘wrongfulness’ and ‘sexual innocence’ from ‘childhood’ in contemporary narratives of childhood sexual abuse
Authors: Woodiwiss Jo
Published: February 2014

This article draws on research exploring adult women’s engagement with narratives of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and identifies implications for both child and adult victims. As this research showed, any single story cannot accommodate all experiences. When that single story becomes dominant those whose experiences are not acknowledged are at risk of being silenced and left without a narrative framework to make sense of their experiences, which in turn risk being unrecognised as abuse by others. The article looks at contemporary understandings of CSA and argues for the need to move beyond a single damage narrative in which victims are constructed as sexually innocent, weak and passive and seen to be inevitably damaged by their experiences. The article argues for the need to separate wrongfulness from harm and (sexual) innocence from childhood. This would enable us to recognise sexual abuse in all sexually abused children, including those who do not conform to sexual innocence, and to recognise that CSA is wrong irrespective of psychological damage. In doing so, it is argued, we would all be better equipped to recognise sexual abuse and victims would be better able to tell their own stories which may, but may not, include psychological damage.
Behind closed doors: Pornographic uses of the Victorian
Authors: Marks Laura Helen
Published: February 2014

This essay argues that the frequency and consistency of Victorian-set or Victorian-influenced pornographic films highlight hardcore’s reliance on class- and gender-related spatial transgression for erotic appeal: boundaries of public and private that the films specifically associate with Victorian social structures. This essay illuminates a self-reflexive pornographic heritage and demonstrates the peculiar tension between sexual repression and sexual perversity evidenced in cultural understandings of both the 19th-century and modern day pornography. I argue that in such films as A Scent of Heather (1980), Memoirs of a Chambermaid (1987), and Victorian Love Letters (2010), 19th-century material culture and technology, including written text, clothing, furniture, and domestic space, are eroticized in pornographic film specifically in connection with gender and class. In so doing, Victorian sexuality is represented in pornography as simultaneously regressive and perverse, as well as intimately tied to the transgression of strict class boundaries; boundaries that, the films seem to suggest, are no longer present in enlightened modern culture.
The difficulty of removing the prejudice
Authors: Arponen V. P. J.
Published: February 2014

Critically discussing the causal social ontologies presented by Dave Elder-Vass and John Searle, the article argues that these views implausibly identify the causal ontological source of human sociality in collectively known, recognized and accepted statuses, criteria, norms and the like. This is implausible, for it ignores human sociality as occurring in temporally and spatially dispersed on-going processes of human interaction of differently placed, often unequal, and thus epistemically differently equipped actors in division of labour. Human scientific concepts are best seen as picking out (aspects of) such complex and heterogeneous processes, not what the participating actors allegedly collectively know, accept or recognize about them. The article observes that similar appeals to collective recognition are also common in Wittgensteinian literature that, however, have claimed to reject the causal ontological view. It is argued that the ultimate value in rejecting the causal ontological view, and the accompanying idea of collective recognition, resides in that we thereby avoid epistemically homogenizing and over-intellectualizing the diverse mass of dispersed, often unequal, but interacting actors.
‘As long as I’m fit and a healthy weight, I don’t feel bad’: Exploring body work and health through the concept of ‘affect’
Authors: Coffey Julia
Published: February 2014

In diverse social contexts individuals are encouraged to ‘work on’ their bodies to improve their health and appearance. This article builds on recent sociological and feminist approaches which foreground the body and embodiment, combining a Deleuzian theorisation of bodies and the concept of affect to analyse qualitative interviews with young people about their body work practices. Empirical work which explicitly employs a Deleuzian theory of bodies in methodology and analysis is relatively new in sociological studies of the body. Drawing on young people’s narratives about their body practices, and their embodied everyday experiences of ‘health’, this article shows the value of a Deleuzian approach to rethinking bodies, arguing that the concept of affect helps to extend understandings of embodiment. Through interviews with young people about their bodies and body work practices, this article explicates how a Deleuzian approach to bodies can be practically extended in empirical analysis.
Implementation of smart pump technology in a paediatric intensive care unit
Authors: Manrique-Rodríguez Silvia , Sánchez-Galindo Amelia C , de Lorenzo-Pinto Ana , González-Vives Leticia , López-Herce Jesús , Carrillo-Álvarez Ángel , Sanjurjo-Sáez María , Fernández-Llamazares Cecilia M
Published: February 2014

Patient safety is a matter of major concern that involves every health professional. Nowadays, emerging technologies such as smart pumps can diminish medication errors as well as standardise and improve clinical practice with the subsequent benefits for patients. The aim of this paper was to describe the smart pump implementation process in a paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) and to present the most relevant infusion-related programming errors that were prevented. This was a comparative study between CareFusion Alaris Guardrails® and Hospira MedNet® systems, as well as a prospective and intervention study with analytical components carried out in the PICU of Gregorio Marañón General and Teaching Hospital. All intravenous infusions programmed with a pump in the eleven beds of the unit were analyzed. A drug library was developed and subsequently loaded into CareFusion and Hospira pumps that were used during a three month period each. The most suitable system for implementation was selected according to their differences in features and users’ acceptance. Data stored in the pumps were analyzed to assess user compliance with the technology, health care setting and type of errors intercepted. The implementation process was carried out with CareFusion systems. Compliance with the technology was 92% and user acceptance was high. Vacation substitution and drug administration periods were significantly associated with a greater number of infusion-related programming errors. High risk drugs were involved in 48% of intercepted errors. Based on these results we can conclude that implementation of smart pumps proved effective in intercepting infusion-related programming errors from reaching patients. User awareness of the importance of programming infusions with the drug library is the key to succeed in the implementation process.