bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Sustainable development goals and quality of life targets: Insights from Metro Manila
Authors: Porio Emma
Published: December 2014

This article examines three frameworks utilized in assessing quality of life (QOL) and sustainability, namely, (1) the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), (2) the United Nations Commission for Sustainable Development (UNCSD) framework for sustainable development, and the (3) Livable Cities Indicators (LCIs). The study assesses the efficiency, relevance/appropriateness, and effectiveness of these frameworks in assessing the quality of urban life in cities, with special reference to Metro Manila. What do these indicators really tell us about urban quality of life and whose quality of life is reflected or measured in these indicators? The article suggests that the understanding and assessment of the quality of life in cities can become broader and more relevant if we take into consideration that macro indicators may not reflect the socio-economic realities of different sub-groups, especially the politically and economically marginalized urban groups and classes. In short, these QOL frameworks and indicators are not sensitive to issues of social exclusion, inequality, and resource distribution among sub-groups, which have a great bearing on quality of life and sustainability, both in the cities of the North and the global South. To advance this goal, there is a need to contextualize, localize, and decentralize the production and utilization of the QOL knowledge systems.
Inequality, development, and the rising democracies of the Global South
Authors: Schulz Markus S
Published: December 2014

The 2010 G-20 summit marked the transition to a new multipolar world with participation of rising powers from the Global South. This article explores the new hopes for a more equitable future with a focus on the tripartite alliance of India, Brazil, and South Africa (IBSA). In contrast to their BRICS counterparts China and Russia, the IBSA countries have democratic political systems and share major foreign policy objectives, including UN Security Council reform. Rejecting deterministic and neoliberal models, this article presents a broader conceptualization of inclusive development and examines the trenches of development as contentious constructions. The IBSA countries’ legacies of steep socio-economic inequalities are compared with their most recent development records and stated ambitions of policy discourse. The article uses scenario construction to highlight stakes and choices for democratic development at this critical geopolitical juncture.
The climate change imaginary
Authors: Luke Timothy W
Published: December 2014

Climate change is represented as an increasingly conventionalized cluster of signs, symbols, and stories. This symbolic formation typically is cast in various graphic and tabular presentations of how greenhouse gases are disrupting Nature and its environments. The essentially contested quality of this imaginary, and its conflicting characteristics, force one to re-examine how mediated, constructed, and rhetorical these depictions are. Such aesthetic constructs are a risky art in which climate change images can circulate as illusion, ideology, and invention as well as factual and functional scientific findings. Rather than being simple presentations of Nature as such, these efforts are often complex representations of social forces with political agendas. Presentations of these imaginaries as well as reactions to them leave one pondering how the images serve many purposes: to discredit or validate the still emerging sciences for modeling, monitoring, and managing climate change; to legitimize or forestall ongoing debates about climate change and its causes; or to aestheticize or paralyze thinking about global warming as the sheer immensity, root uncertainty, and clear complexity of taking any action grip both the elites and publics.
Gingival Wound Healing
Authors: Smith P.C. , Cáceres M. , Martínez C. , Oyarzún A. , Martínez J.
Published: December 2014

Gingival wound healing comprises a series of sequential responses that allow the closure of breaches in the masticatory mucosa. This process is of critical importance to prevent the invasion of microbes or other agents into tissues, avoiding the establishment of a chronic infection. Wound healing may also play an important role during cell and tissue reaction to long-term injury, as it may occur during inflammatory responses and cancer. Recent experimental data have shown that gingival wound healing is severely affected by the aging process. These defects may alter distinct phases of the wound-healing process, including epithelial migration, granulation tissue formation, and tissue remodeling. The cellular and molecular defects that may explain these deficiencies include several biological responses such as an increased inflammatory response, altered integrin signaling, reduced growth factor activity, decreased cell proliferation, diminished angiogenesis, reduced collagen synthesis, augmented collagen remodeling, and deterioration of the proliferative and differentiation potential of stem cells. In this review, we explore the cellular and molecular basis of these defects and their possible clinical implications.
Reading for difference on the street: De-homogenising street vending in Mexico City
Authors: Crossa Veronica
Published: December 2014

In cities across the Global South, neoliberal urban policies have unfolded through a series of projects that take the streets, plazas and other public spaces of the city as central arenas to booster the neoliberal project. This has entailed the removal and displacement of groups who depend on these spaces for their daily survival, for example street vendors and other participants of the so-called informal economy. This paper draws from and seeks to contribute to work on the urban politics of informality in the Global South. My objective is to broaden our understanding of informality and resistance in cities by recognising difference and de-homogenising so-called informal activities, particularly street vending and vendors. To make this argument, I draw from the experience of resistance movements against displacement carried out by street vendors in Mexico City as a result of the implementation of a series of exclusionary policies implemented by city authorities. I demonstrate that thinking about difference matters to the way in which vendors carried out their resistance strategies and to how the post-policy context materialised.
Detroit after bankruptcy: A case of degrowth machine politics
Authors: Schindler Seth
Published: December 2014

It is widely accepted that neoliberalism is intensified in times of crisis, and Jamie Peck has argued that ‘austerity urbanism’ has been implemented at the urban scale since the 2008 financial crisis. This article questions whether this narrative of neoliberal expansion is applicable in cities where crisis is so severe that economic growth seems highly unlikely. I focus on Detroit, whose recent declaration of bankruptcy signals the recognition among local officials and elites that the city’s decline cannot be reversed with out-of-the-box neoliberal policies. Instead, the city’s bankruptcy precipitated a breakdown of an interscalar growth coalition, and local actors have embraced a plan for Detroit’s future which diverges from ‘austerity urbanism’ favoured by extra-local investors in significant ways. Importantly, local actors have embraced a plan that seeks to improve the quality of life for the city’s residents in the context of irreversible degrowth. I refer to this as degrowth machine politics and I examine the extent to which its emergence may foster contingency and progressive urban politics.
Racial equity in the post-civil rights suburbs? Evidence from US regions 2000–2012
Authors: Pfeiffer Deirdre
Published: December 2014

Minority suburbanites in the US have historically lived in more disadvantaged neighbourhoods than Whites. Yet, those in suburbs that came of age after the 1960s civil rights era may be experiencing more equal outcomes. Using US Census data and descriptive statistics, this research tests whether post-civil rights suburbs had greater racial equity in neighbourhood poverty, college educated, and homeownership rates relative to central cities and older suburbs in 88 regions from 2000 to 2012. Minorities typically experienced better and more equitable neighbourhood conditions in the post-civil rights suburbs, with African American and low-income households accruing the greatest gains. Ordinary least squares regression modelling reveals that post-civil rights suburbs’ newer housing stock and greater racial integration and income equality contributed to their greater racial equity.
Examining the Link Between Stress Events and Prosocial Behavior in Adolescents
Authors: Larson Andrea , Moses Tally
Published: December 2014

Scholarship regarding adolescent resilience has typically defined resilience as the absence of negative outcomes rather than the existence of positive outcomes. This study drew on the challenge model of resilience, which anticipates a curvilinear relationship between stress exposure and adaptive functioning, to test whether adolescents reporting moderate levels of stress exposure were more likely to evidence prosocial behavior than youth exposed to more or less stress. Using data from approximately 13,000 adolescents, we tested three analytic models and investigated hypothesized moderation by coping, social resources, and markers of adolescent status. Our results did not align with the challenge model. Instead, we found that stress exposure was differentially associated with measures of prosocial behavior, that social resources supported volunteering but impeded helping a peer in some instances, and that markers of historically marginalized status were more predictive of stopping peer harassment than volunteering. Implications for future research are discussed.
Adolescent Delinquency, Drinking, and Smoking
Authors: Sanchagrin Kenneth , Heimer Karen , Paik Anthony
Published: December 2014

Youths who have deviant and delinquent friends are more likely to engage in delinquency. Interestingly, most quantitative studies of the association between deviant peers and deviant behavior have assumed that all peer connections have similar effects. Yet, it is possible that peer influence may vary depending on the characteristics of peers. Using social network data from two waves of the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent to Adult Health, this study examines the impact of same-sex and cross-sex friendships on deviance and delinquency in adolescent networks. The findings demonstrate that peer association is a significant predictor of delinquency for males, although its effects depend on the gender of boys’ friends. For females, by contrast, the link between associating with deviant peers and behavior is minimal once the stable characteristics of individuals are taken into account. Rather, social bonds are the most important predictors of delinquency.
Servomechanism for periodic reference input: Discrete wavelet transform-based repetitive controller
Authors: Mondal Ujjwal , Sengupta Anindita , Pathak Rajeev R.
Published: December 2014

The presented work explored the possibility of developing a discrete wavelet transform-based repetitive control (DWTRC) strategy along with a proportional controller for a liquid level system (LLS) to track a periodic reference signal. The modified DWTRC with a P control system is a type of servo mechanism, effective for periodic reference input. The entire effort derives from two distinct parts. First, the tracking performance and stability measure of the system with inclusion of a repetitive controller (RC) in presence of P controller that has been studied and compared with conventional P and PI controllers in both time and frequency domains, subjected to periodic command to establish the usefulness of the former. The most obvious disadvantage of the RC with P control is the requirement of large memory for the presence of RC, and the memory requirement linearly increases with both repetition time and sampling frequency. Second, to overcome this difficulty, deployment of the discrete wavelet transform (DWT) in the RC loop is done to reduce the problem of memory requirement, and ensures efficient and high-speed computation due to the filtering and data reduction property of DWT. Finally, the effectiveness of DWTRC is validated through saving memory and optimizing the tracking error with variation of the wavelet order and its decomposition level.
A Descriptive Analysis of Incidents Reported by Community Aged Care Workers
Authors: Tariq Amina , Douglas Heather E. , Smith Cheryl , Georgiou Andrew , Osmond Tracey , Armour Pauline , Westbrook Johanna I.
Published: December 2014

Little is known about the types of incidents that occur to aged care clients in the community. This limits the development of effective strategies to improve client safety. The objective of the study was to present a profile of incidents reported in Australian community aged care settings. All incident reports made by community care workers employed by one of the largest community aged care provider organizations in Australia during the period November 1, 2012, to August 8, 2013, were analyzed. A total of 356 reports were analyzed, corresponding to a 7.5% incidence rate per client year. Falls and medication incidents were the most prevalent incident types. Clients receiving high-level care and those who attended day therapy centers had the highest rate of incidents with 14% to 20% of these clients having a reported incident. The incident profile indicates that clients on higher levels of care had higher incident rates. Incident data represent an opportunity to improve client safety in community aged care.
Toward understanding the importance of trust in influencing Internet banking adoption in Uganda
Authors: Yiga Charles , Cha Kyung Jin
Published: December 2014

With the increasing popularity of the Internet, financial institutions are seeking ways to utilize this popular medium in an effort to keep up with the changing technological preferences of their customers through innovations like Internet banking services. In Uganda, however, the rate of Internet banking adoption has not risen as strongly as expected due to factors like lack of trust, security, poor perceptions on usefulness and ease of use of the system by the customers, lack of privacy over the Internet and poor attitude towards Internet banking, among others, which has led many to view Internet banking as a very risky undertaking. This study introduces perceived trustworthiness as one of the beliefs that may significantly influence Internet banking adoption and we examine its importance in determining customers’ attitude and behavioral intention towards using Internet banking as the purpose of the study. We conducted a survey by distributing questionnaires to customers of five highly competitive banks in Uganda and collected data from a total of 232 respondents. The results of the statistical analyses using structural equation modeling indicate that the relative importance of perceived trustworthiness of banks was statistically significant as it accounted for 47 percent of variance in predicting customers’ attitude towards Internet banking.
Facilitation of bilateral selective antegrade cerebral perfusion with axillary cannulation and retrograde coronary sinus catheter
Authors: Fukuhara S , DeRoo S , Beck J , Takayama H
Published: December 2014

Over the past several decades, techniques for surgery of the aortic arch have undergone significant evolution. In addition, there have been refinements in the mechanism of cerebral protection utilized intraoperatively. However, significant practice variations in the strategy of antegrade selective cerebral perfusion continue to persist. Here, we describe a simple and easily reproducible technique for selective antegrade cerebral perfusion, utilizing axillary cannulation and retrograde coronary sinus balloon catheters.
Re-imagining the region
Authors: Collits Paul , Rowe James E
Published: December 2014

Traditionally, regional policy has sought to intervene ‘in place’. There have been many critiques of particular policies and regional strategies, and a more sustained critique of regional policy more generally, based upon the complexity of regional processes and the relative incapacity of governments to control, or in some cases even to influence, these processes and deliver the outcomes they desire. In the 21st century, there are new and even more complicating processes – the new globalisation, greater mobility, new kinds of mobility, the increased openness of borders, rapidly shifting business models, accelerating disruption of industries and businesses by new start-ups, and distributed work – that render much thinking, strategy and policy related to regions obsolete. This paper describes some of these processes, what they mean for policy and, even more fundamentally, what they mean for the way we think about regions.
Revision Versus Primary Arthroscopic Rotator Cuff Repair
Authors: Shamsudin Aminudin , Lam Patrick H. , Peters Karin , Rubenis Imants , Hackett Lisa , Murrell George A.C.
Published: December 2014

Background:

Symptomatic rotator cuff tears are often treated surgically. However, there is a paucity of information regarding the outcomes of revision arthroscopic rotator cuff repairs.

Purpose:

To evaluate the outcome of revision arthroscopic rotator cuff surgery when compared with primary arthroscopic rotator cuff surgery in a large cohort of patients.

Study Design:

Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3.

Method:

A consecutive series of 50 revision arthroscopic rotator cuff repairs performed by a single surgeon, with minimum 2-year follow-up, were retrospectively reviewed using prospectively collected data. As a comparison, 3 primary arthroscopic rotator cuff repair cases (primary group; n = 310) were chosen immediately before each revision case, and 3 were chosen after. Standardized patient-ranked outcomes, examiner-determined assessments, and ultrasound-determined rotator cuff integrity were assessed preoperatively at 6 months and at a minimum of 2 years after surgery.

Results:

The revision group was older (mean age, 63 years; range, 43-80 years) compared with the primary group (mean age, 60 years; range, 18-88 years) ( P < .05) and had larger tear size (mean ± SEM) (4.1 ± 0.5 cm2) compared with the primary group (3.0 ± 0.2 cm2) ( P < .05). Two years after surgery, the primary group reported less pain at rest ( P < .02), during sleep ( P < .05), and with overhead activity ( P < .01) compared with the revision group. The primary group had better passive forward flexion (+13°; P < .05), abduction (+18°; P < .01), internal rotation (+2 vertebral levels; P < .001) and also significantly greater supraspinatus strength (+15 N; P < .001), lift-off strength (+9.3 N; P < .05), and adduction strength (+20 N; P < .01) compared with the revision group at 2 years. When compared with the primary group, the revision group was more satisfied with the overall shoulder function before surgery but was less satisfied with their shoulder function than the primary group at 2 years ( P < .005). The retear rate for primary rotator cuff repair was 16% at 6 months and 21% at 2 years, while the retear rate for revision rotator cuff repair was 28% at 6 months and deteriorated to 40% at 2 years ( P < .05).

Conclusion:

The short-term clinical outcomes of patients undergoing revision rotator cuff repair were similar to those after primary rotator cuff repair. However, these results did not persist, and by 2 years patients who had revision rotator cuff repair were twice as likely to have retorn compared with those undergoing primary repair. The increase in retear rate in the revision group at 2 years was associated with increased pain, impaired overhead function, less passive motion, weaker strength, and less overall satisfaction with shoulder function.
Structural Properties of the Intact Proximal Hamstring Origin and Evaluation of Varying Avulsion Repair Techniques
Authors: Hamming Mark G. , Philippon Marc J. , Rasmussen Matthew T. , Ferro Fernando P. , Turnbull Travis Lee , Trindade Christiano A.C. , LaPrade Robert F. , Wijdicks Coen A.
Published: December 2014

Background:

Although surgical repair has been reported to provide improved outcomes compared with nonoperative treatment in the management of complete proximal hamstring origin avulsions, no intact or avulsion repair biomechanical data exist to support various repair strategies or guide postoperative rehabilitation.

Purpose:

To compare failure load among 4 proximal hamstring tendon conditions: (1) intact, (2) repair with 2 small anchors (2S), (3) repair with 2 large anchors (2L), and (4) repair with 5 small anchors (5S).

Study Design:

Controlled laboratory study.

Methods:

Twenty-four human cadaveric hemipelvises were randomly allocated to 1 of the 4 testing groups. Intact and repaired specimens were subjected to cyclic loading at 1 Hz between 25 N and a progressively increasing maximum load that was incremented by 200 N every 50 cycles, beginning at 200 N and increasing to 1600 N. Displacement, maximum load, stiffness, number of cycles to failure, and mode of failure during cyclic loading were recorded and analyzed.

Results:

The intact proximal hamstring tendons failed at the highest cyclic force of all tested groups, yet no significant differences existed between the intact (1405 ± 157 N) and 5S repair (1164 ± 294 N) conditions. Both the 2S and the 2L repair groups failed at a level significantly lower than the intact hamstring (474 ± 145 N [ P < .001] and 543 ± 245 N [ P < .001], respectively). The maximum load attained by the 5S repairs was significantly greater than the loads attained by the 2S ( P = .005) and 2L ( P = .013) repairs.

Conclusion:

Repairs using 5 small anchors were similar to the intact tendon and were significantly stronger than repairs using only 2 large or 2 small anchors in the repair of complete avulsions of the proximal hamstring tendons. Additionally, no significant differences in strength were observed when only anchor size differed.

Clinical Relevance:

This finding supports the clinical investigation of postoperative range of motion rehabilitation protocols that permit full flexion and extension of the hip and knee when a 5-anchor repair construct is used.
Exploring the Drugs/Violence Nexus Among Active Offenders
Authors: Dickinson Timothy
Published: December 2014

In 1985, Paul Goldstein published a seminal article suggesting a conceptual framework for the study of the connection between drugs and violence. This work influenced a generation of scholars, including a number of criminologists from the University of Missouri–St. Louis. Through a series of studies focusing on the collection and analysis of data from active offenders, these criminologists, known as the St. Louis School (SLS), have explicated and expanded Goldstein’s initial framework. This article describes the SLS, reviews and integrates its contributions to understanding the drugs/ violence nexus, and suggests fruitful avenues for future research on this pervasive and pernicious relationship.
The timing of conflict violence: Hydraulic behavior in the Ugandan civil war
Authors: Carter Timothy Allen , Veale Daniel Jay
Published: December 2014

Researchers generally examine how variables directly affect events in war. Some variables, however, may not simply increase or decrease conflict events but may instead displace them. In wartime, this dynamic may result from the conditional decision-making made by militaries constrained, at least partially, by time. When there is a necessary regularity to military operations, decision-making may be complicated by factors such as inclement weather, and this regularized pressure to act may produce a hydraulic relationship between inclement weather and events. In this dynamic, today’s inclement weather, such as rain, may displace today’s events. Conversely, yesterday’s rain may increase today’s, with planned events postponed. Similarly, tomorrow’s rain may also increase today’s events, with planned activities moved forward. We test this hydraulic argument with geo-referenced data from the recent Ugandan civil war and find significant evidence that conflict events are fluid in time. Inclement weather constrains and also displaces events.
Accelerated aging effects on carbon fiber PEKK composites manufactured by hot compression molding
Authors: Mazur Rogério L , Cândido Geraldo M , Rezende Mirabel C , Botelho Edson C
Published: December 2014

The accelerated aging effects on mechanical properties of carbon fiber-reinforced polyetherketoneketone (PEKK) thermoplastic composites are reported. Ultraviolet (UV) radiation and moisture absorption may induce property changes that weaken the polymeric matrix and/or deteriorate the matrix fiber interface by debonding or microcracking. The aim of the present work is to correlate the influence of the accelerated aging effects on compression and shear properties of carbon fiber-reinforced PEKK thermoplastic composite manufacturing by hot compression molding. The hot compression molding process was shown to be a good alternative for producing the thermoplastic composite, with an appropriate impregnation. The UV radiation/condensation conditioning effect did not show significant influence on shear strength properties. However, the most significant change was observed in the compression and shear strength after the specimens were submitted to the hygrothermal conditioning, which presented a marked increase. This behavior suggests an antiplasticization effect.
‘And You Need Me to Be the Token Mexican?’: Examining Racial Hierarchies and the Complexities of Racial Identities for Middle Class Mexican Americans
Authors: Delgado Daniel J.
Published: December 2014

This article examines the racial identities of middle class Mexican Americans, and provides a focus on how racial oppression plays a significant role in the formation, negotiation, and organization of these identities. This article sheds light on how Mexican Americans continue to experience racism despite being middle class and achieving socioeconomic parity with many middle class whites. Drawing on 67 semi-structured open-ended interviews (one to three hours each) in Phoenix and San Antonio this article shows how middle class Latinos/as negotiate racialized identities and racial oppression. This research concludes that these middle class Mexican Americans utilize different identity practices to navigate racism and racial hierarchies. These practices are attempts to access white coded middle class resources and to maintain and/or shift their positions in the race and class hierarchies of the USA.
The Vel of Slavery: Tracking the Figure of the Unsovereign
Authors: Sexton Jared
Published: December 2014

This article addresses the relationship between anti-racism and decolonization in the North American context. It argues that the logic of decolonization movements for indigenous sovereignty and against the settler states of Canada and the USA overlap the discursive field of contemporary post-racialism in ways that circumvent the challenges and possibilities offered by black radicalism in the historic instance. After engaging recent theoretical literature on settler colonialism, it is suggested that the freedom drive that abolishes slavery unsettles both colonial and decolonial forms of sovereign determination.
Development of an autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle using gas-powered RC helicopter
Authors: Xie Pu , Ma Ou , Flores-Abad Angel
Published: December 2014

This paper describes the development of a small unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with autonomous flight capability. It is the result of integrating a commercial off-the-shelf autopilot system with a low-cost gas-powered RC helicopter. Researchers face several challenges when developing UAVs using gas-powered RC helicopters. To avoid the corruption of the structural vibration to the avionics hardware system, an innovative vibration isolation technique is developed to mechanically isolate the vibrations from the gas engine and rotors. Furthermore, a dynamics model for the vehicle is created to support the autonomous flight control development work. Further, a loss-recover method using Kalman filter is employed for estimating the attitude and position statuses when GPS signal is lost. Several other key challenges related to electromagnetic interference shielding and safe flight testing are also effectively solved in the project. The integration work has been completed and the test flights done so far show that the developed autonomous UAV works well under the integration of the mechanical system, electronic system, and controller software.
Does Hugging Provide Stress-Buffering Social Support? A Study of Susceptibility to Upper Respiratory Infection and Illness
Authors: Cohen Sheldon , Janicki-Deverts Denise , Turner Ronald B. , Doyle William J.
Published: December 2014

Perceived social support has been hypothesized to protect against the pathogenic effects of stress. How such protection might be conferred, however, is not well understood. Using a sample of 404 healthy adults, we examined the roles of perceived social support and received hugs in buffering against interpersonal stress-induced susceptibility to infectious disease. Perceived support was assessed by questionnaire, and daily interpersonal conflict and receipt of hugs were assessed by telephone interviews on 14 consecutive evenings. Subsequently, participants were exposed to a virus that causes a common cold and were monitored in quarantine to assess infection and illness signs. Perceived support protected against the rise in infection risk associated with increasing frequency of conflict. A similar stress-buffering effect emerged for hugging, which explained 32% of the attenuating effect of support. Among infected participants, greater perceived support and more-frequent hugs each predicted less-severe illness signs. These data suggest that hugging may effectively convey social support.
Ethical challenges when intensive care unit patients refuse nursing care
Authors: Bull Eva Martine , Sørlie Venke
Published: December 2014

Background:

Less sedated and more awake patients in the intensive care unit may cause ethical challenges.

Research objectives:

The purpose of this study is to describe ethical challenges registered nurses experience when patients refuse care and treatment.

Research design:

Narrative individual open interviews were conducted, and data were analysed using a phenomenological hermeneutic method developed for researching life experiences.

Participants and research context:

Three intensive care registered nurses from an intensive care unit at a university hospital in Norway were included.

Ethical considerations:

Norwegian Social Science Data Services approved the study. Permission was obtained from the intensive care unit leader. The participants’ informed and voluntary consent was obtained in writing.

Findings:

Registered nurses experienced ethical challenges in the balance between situations of deciding on behalf of the patient, persuading the patient and letting the patient decide. Ethical challenges were related to patients being harmful to themselves, not keeping up personal hygiene and care or hindering critical treatment.

Discussion:

It is made apparent how professional ethics may be threatened by more pragmatic arguments. In recent years, registered nurses are faced with increasing ethical challenges to do no harm and maintain dignity.

Conclusion:

Ethically challenging situations are emerging, due to new targets including conscious and aware critical care patients, leaving an altered responsibility on the registered nurses. Reflection is required to adjust the course when personal and professional ideals no longer are in harmony with the reality in the clinical practice. RNs must maintain a strong integrity as authentic human beings to provide holistic nursing care.
Unintentional Exposure to Online Sexual Content and Sexual Behavior Intentions Among College Students in China
Authors: Zhang Jingwen , Jemmott John B.
Published: December 2014

This study examined the relations of unintentional exposure to Internet sexual content to intentions for sex and condom use and potential mediators of these relations, including attitudes, norms, and self-efficacy, among college students in China. A sample of 524 Chinese college students completed an online questionnaire. Mediation path analyses were conducted to test the theory of planned behavior as a model of the relations between unintentional exposure and intentions to have sex and use condoms. On average, students reported being unintentionally exposed to Internet sexual content about 3 to 4 times during the past month. Unintentional exposure was indirectly associated with intention to have sex, mediated through descriptive and injunctive norms. Descriptive norm was a stronger mediator for females than males. In contrast, unintentional exposure was unrelated to condom-use intention and mediators. The theory of planned behavior provides a model for the development of Internet-based interventions with these students.
Effect of pseudoelastic hysteresis of shape memory alloy springs on the aeroelastic behavior of a typical airfoil section
Authors: Candido de Sousa Vagner , De Marqui Junior Carlos
Published: December 2014

The literature on aeroelasticity includes studies on the use of smart materials as sensors and actuators in vibration control problems. Although different smart materials are available, shape memory alloys have received growing attention in aerospace applications. The hysteretic response of shape memory alloys exhibiting pseudoelasticity provides energy dissipating and damping capabilities for these materials, and therefore, the effectiveness of the pseudoelastic behavior of shape memory alloys has been investigated for passive structural vibration control. However, its effect on the aeroelastic behavior of lifting surfaces has not been covered in the literature. Hence, this article addresses the modeling and analysis of a 2-degree-of-freedom typical aeroelastic section with shape memory alloy springs introduced through the pitch degree of freedom. A state-space model is employed for the simulations of the coupled system, and a two-state approximation to Theodorsen aerodynamics is used for the determination of the aerodynamic loads. The effects of the hysteretic behavior of the shape memory alloy springs on the aeroelastic behavior of the typical section are investigated at the flutter boundary and at post-flutter regime.
Operational model updating of low-order horizontal axis wind turbine models for structural health monitoring applications
Authors: Velazquez Antonio , Swartz R Andrew
Published: December 2014

Rotational machinery such as horizontal axis wind turbines exhibits complex and nonlinear dynamics (e.g. precession and Coriolis effects, torsional coupling) and is subjected to nonlinear constrained conditions (i.e. aeroelastic interaction). For those reasons, aeroelastic and computer-aided models reproduced under controlled conditions may fail to predict the correct non-stationary loading and resistance patterns of wind turbines in actual operation. Operational techniques for extracting modal properties under actual non-stationary loadings are needed in order to improve computer-aided elasto-aerodynamic models to better characterize the actual behavior of horizontal axis wind turbines in operational scenarios, monitor and diagnose the system for integrity and damage through time, and optimize control systems. For structural health monitoring applications, model updating of stochastic aerodynamic problems has gained interest over the past decades. A probability theory framework is employed in this study to update a horizontal axis wind turbine model using such a stochastic global optimization approach. Structural identification is addressed under regular wind turbine operation conditions for non-stationary, unmeasured, and uncontrolled excitations by means of stochastic subspace identification techniques. This numerical framework is then coupled with an adaptive simulated annealing numerical engine for solving the problem of model updating. Numerical results are presented for an experimental deployment of a small horizontal axis wind turbine structure.
Developing Concepts and Generalizations to Build Algebraic Thinking
Authors: Dougherty Barbara , Bryant Diane Pedrotty , Bryant Brian R. , Darrough Rebecca L. , Pfannenstiel Kathleen Hughes
Published: December 2014

Many students with learning disabilities (LD) in mathematics receive their mathematics education in general education inclusive classes; therefore, these students must be capable of learning algebraic concepts, including developing algebraic thinking abilities, that are part of the general education curriculum. To help students develop algebraic thinking, teachers should ask questions in different ways to promote the ability to think algebraically. This article describes three types of questions—reversibility, flexibility, and generalizations—which support the acquisition of broader concepts leading to algebraic thinking. Examples of the question types within the contexts of rational numbers and integers are provided to assist teachers in creating similar questions for teaching mathematics to students with LD.
Sleep Deprivation in Parents Caring for Children With Complex Needs at Home
Authors: McCann Damhnat , Bull Rosalind , Winzenberg Tania
Published: December 2014

A significant number of children with a range of complex conditions and health care needs are being cared for by parents in the home environment. This mixed methods systematic review aimed to determine the amount of sleep obtained by these parents and the extent to which the child-related overnight health or care needs affected parental sleep experience and daily functioning. Summary statistics were not able to be determined due to the heterogeneity of included studies, but the common themes that emerged are that parents of children with complex needs experience sleep deprivation that can be both relentless and draining and affects the parents themselves and their relationships. The degree of sleep deprivation varies by diagnosis, but a key contributing factor is the need for parents to be vigilant at night. Of particular importance to health care professionals is the inadequate overnight support provided to parents of children with complex needs, potentially placing these parents at risk of poorer health outcomes associated with sleep deprivation and disturbance. This needs to be addressed to enable parents to remain well and continue to provide the care that their child and family require.
Deformation of an infinite, square rod of an elastic magnetizable material, subjected to an external magnetic field by a boundary integral method: a numerical approach
Authors: El Dhaba Amr Ramadan
Published: December 2014

We find the deformation and stresses occurring in an infinite rod of a magnetizable material with square normal cross-section, subjected to an external, transversal and initially uniform magnetic field of arbitrary direction. The numerical solution of the uncoupled problem is obtained using a boundary integral method. This yields the boundary values of all the unknown functions of the problem. The results are discussed in detail. Applications concern the calculation of stresses in straight portions of elastic, magnetizable cylinders subjected to transversal magnetic fields.
Risk Assessment in Child Sexual Abusers Working With Children
Authors: Turner Daniel , Rettenberger Martin , Yoon Dahlnym , Klein Verena , Eher Reinhard , Briken Peer
Published: December 2014

Child sexual abuse occurring in a child- or youth-serving institution or organization has attracted great public and scientific attention. In light of the particular personal and offense-related characteristics of men who have abused children within such an institution or organization, it is of special importance to evaluate the predictive performance of currently applied risk assessment instruments in this offender population. Therefore, the present study assessed the risk ratings and predictive performance of four risk assessment instruments and one instrument assessing protective factors concerning any, violent and sexual recidivism in child sexual abusers working with children (CSA-W) in comparison with extra-familial child sexual abusers (CSA-E) and intra-familial child sexual abusers (CSA-I). The results indicate that CSA-W mostly recidivate with a sexual offense. Although all included risk measures seem to function with CSA-W, the Static-99 seems to be the instrument that performs best in predicting sexual recidivism in CSA-W. CSA-W had the most protective factors measured with the Structured Assessment of PROtective Factors (SAPROF). While the SAPROF could not predict desistance from recidivism in CSA-W, it predicted desistance from any recidivism in all CSA. As CSA-W frequently hold many indicators for pedophilic sexual interests but only a few for antisocial tendencies, it can be suggested that CSA-W are at an increased risk for sexual recidivism and thus risk measures especially designed for sexual recidivism work best in CSA-W. Nevertheless, CSA-W also hold many protective factors; however, their impact on CSA-W is not clear yet and needs further study.
Using Evaluation to Effect Social Change
Authors: Cook James R.
Published: December 2014

Program evaluation is generally viewed as a set of mechanisms for collecting and using information to learn about projects, policies and programs, to understand their effects as well as the manner in which they are implemented. AEA has espoused principles for evaluation that place emphasis on competent, honest inquiry that respects the security, dignity and self-worth of respondents, program participants, clients, and other evaluation stakeholders. For community psychology, program evaluation is conceptualized as a strategy for effecting social change and promoting social justice. Examples of “evaluation as change strategy” are provided, with specific suggestions for how evaluators can increase the likelihood that evaluation efforts can lead to successful community changes.
Group exercise to improve quality of life among substance use disorder patients
Authors: Muller Ashley E. , Clausen Thomas
Published: December 2014

Background: Quality of life (QoL) is a well-established outcome within clinical practice. Despite the adverse effects of substance use disorders on a wide range of patients’ functionality and the multidimensional composition of QoL, the treatment field does not yet systematically assess QoL among patients. Exercise has established positive effects on the QoL of healthy and numerous clinical populations. The potential to integrate exercise within treatment, in order to improve QoL has not been satisfactorily explored. Aims: To measure changes in QoL after group exercise among residential substance use disorder patients and to explore the feasibility of the program within a treatment setting. Methods: We enrolled 35 patients in four long-term residential substance use disorder treatment facilities in Oslo, into a 10-week group exercise program. We analyzed the 24 participants who exercised as completers, while the 11 participants who did not were analyzed as non-completers. We measured QoL, mental distress, somatic health burden and addiction severity at the beginning and end of the program. Results: The program was feasible for participants and the completion rate was 69%. Completers’ physical health domain and psychological health domain of QoL improved significantly. The program engaged the most physically and mentally vulnerable participants, and flexibility and motivational factors were important elements. Conclusions: This study provided promising evidence that low doses of group exercise can yield appreciable benefits, even to patients with more severe health problems.
I’ve got goose bumps just talking about it!: Affective life on neoliberalized volunteering programmes
Authors: Griffiths Mark
Published: December 2014

In recent years, research has focussed on the ‘neoliberalization’ of volunteering programmes in the developing South. Commonly cited processes include an uncritical pedagogy of development and a heavy emphasis on ‘difference making’ and curriculum vitae building. These neoliberalizing processes, research finds, have come to shape the affective and emotional experience of volunteers on placement. This article presents an alternative reading of the embodied experience of volunteering. Affect here is understood as autonomous and explored as a potential ‘outside’ to formations of power and neoliberalization. The discussion begins with a critical reading of the British government’s International Citizen Service programme, drawing out its neoliberalized construction of volunteers as ‘global citizens’. The article then moves on to present affective data from fieldwork carried out on International Citizen Service projects in India. The argument is made that neoliberalism need not be the only frame of analysis; volunteers experience rich inter-subjectivities that cannot (and should not) be easily attributed to processes of neoliberalization. The resulting account writes into being the affective life on placement as potentially autonomous of expressions of power and neoliberalization.
Dementia, women and sexuality: How the intersection of ageing, gender and sexuality magnify dementia concerns among lesbian and bisexual women
Authors: Westwood Sue
Published: December 2014

There is a growing appreciation of the significance of socio-cultural context for the experiences of an individual living with dementia. There is, too, an emergent awareness that dementia is a gendered issue, disproportionately affecting women compared with men. However, little attention has been given as yet to the experiences of lesbian and bisexual women living with dementia. This article addresses this gap in knowledge, exploring the significance of the intersection of ageing, gender and sexuality for lesbian and bisexual women with dementia. It suggests that stigma and social marginalisation associated with dementia and with ageing, gender and sexuality intersect to compound the social exclusion of lesbians and bisexual women. This has implications for early diagnosis and treatment. Moreover, community care policy, which is predicated on heterosexist norms fails to take into account older lesbians and bisexual women’s support networks and so is less likely to be attuned to their needs. Residential care provision is perceived by older lesbians and bisexual women as being heteronormative at best and homophobic at worst. Services which do not recognise, validate and support their identities will compound their anxiety, confusion and distress. This may be contrary to Equality and Human Rights legislation and UK social policies. This paper draws upon, and analyses, extracts from a range of authorship, synthesising the material to present novel insights into the significance of gender and sexuality for the experience of dementia and dementia care.