bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Image needs in the context of image use: An exploratory study
Authors: Chung EunKyung , Yoon JungWon
Published: March 2011

As a way of understanding the image needs of users, researchers in the image retrieval field have investigated contextual factors affecting image needs and search behaviours. In terms of both general users’ groups and non-domain-specific collections on the web, the purpose of this study is to investigate how image needs are interwoven with intended uses which are in varying degrees of image use purposes. Thus, the image-seeking questions posted in a social Q&A service were analysed for their content. The findings of this study indicate that image uses as sources of objects are found more frequently than image uses as sources of data. Moreover, in order to analyse a more detailed underlying structure of image needs and uses, image attributes were examined in terms of three categories including semantics (e.g. ofness and aboutness), non-visual features (e.g. bibliographic information) and syntactic features (e.g. focal point). This study indicates that abstract attributes and specific attributes were distinctively recognized depending on image uses, even though proportion generic attributes were found more frequently. Users are likely to seek images using abstract attributes when they intend to use images as sources of object and specific attributes when using the images as sources of data. More importantly, among the contextual attributes, a similarity component was found to be a universal attribute that was used in all seven image uses, while the attributes in the non-visual and syntactic categories were not frequently used. The findings of this study can be applied to image retrieval systems in terms of improving image indexing practices and expanding search interfaces.
Selecting quality sources: Bridging the gap between the perception and use of information sources
Authors: Kim Kyung-Sun , Sin Sei-Ching Joanna
Published: March 2011

This study investigated undergraduates’ source selection behaviour: what sources they use frequently, what criteria they consider important for source selection, how they perceive different sources, and whether their source selection behaviour is related to what they know about selection criteria. Semantic differential rating scales and correspondence analyses were used to capture the participants’ perception of source characteristics. Five hundred and seventy-six undergraduate students from a public university participated in the study. The study found discrepancies between what students know and what they do regarding source selection. Spearman’s rank correlation results imply that participants did not apply the criteria they considered important (e.g. accuracy, currency) frequently when selecting sources. Sources perceived to be ‘accessible’ in economical, physical, and psychological senses tended to be used often. Suggestions were made to refine information literacy programmes to support the selection of quality sources.
The autonomy of globalizing states: bridging the gap between democratic theory and international political economy
Authors: Agné Hans
Published: March 2011

Scholars of democratic theory and international political economy often disagree over the effects of globalization on state autonomy. Yet, each approach pays minimal attention to the contributions of the other to their common object of study. In an effort to remedy this situation, I identify the premises and procedural habits of each approach which tend to make it appear irrelevant to the other, and then adjust them to remove the appearance of irrelevance without impairing the integrity of each approach. The argument is illustrated by observations from Britain, France and Sweden in recent decades.
Applying the Theory of Motivated Information Management to adult children’s discussions of caregiving with aging parents
Authors: Fowler Craig , Afifi Walid A.
Published: March 2011

Adult children are perhaps the most important source of eldercare for aging parents. Unfortunately, they rarely discuss potential eldercare arrangements with their parents prior to adopting a caregiving role, which may make adapting to the parent’s transition to dependency all the more challenging. The Theory of Motivated Information Management (TMIM) is a social-psychological framework that has had success predicting information-seeking decisions about health issues. As such, it served as the theoretical basis for examining adult children’s pursuit of information from their elderly parents about caregiving preferences. In addition, this study serves as the first empirical test of a revised version of the TMIM, with an expanded treatment of the role played by emotion. The results of an over-time study attest to the utility of the revised TMIM predictions in this context, and offer insight into the factors that predict adult children’s decision to discuss caregiving with their parents.
Reciprocal relationships between sociometric indices of social status and aggressive behavior in children
Authors: Orue Izaskun , Calvete Esther
Published: March 2011

The goal of this study was to assess the reciprocal longitudinal relationships between sociometric status and aggressive behavior in children. Overt and relational aggressive behaviors were differentiated in order to study the diverse associations within peer acceptance and rejection. A total of 777 boys and girls from 8 to 12 years of age filled in peer nomination instruments to measure aggressive behavior and sociometric status. The results revealed that overt aggression at T1 led to rejection at T2. Furthermore, reciprocal relationships were found between rejection and overt aggressive behavior among boys but not among girls. Among girls, acceptance by peers at T1 predicted relational aggression at T2. Differences between boys' and girls' acceptance and rejection of their aggressive peers are also discussed.
State Tax Policy and State Sales Taxes
Authors: Mikesell John
Published: March 2011

Tax expenditure budgets provide a window into intended tax policy. They sort the mixture that adopted tax laws represent by dividing tax structures into provisions that define how revenue is to be raised (tax policy) and provisions that deliver preferences to certain economic entities (budget policy). A review of individual state sales tax expenditure budgets reveals considerable confusion about the tax policy intent of retail sales taxes for distributing the tax burden, although they do suggest general agreement, at least implicitly, that the tax is intended as a general tax on household consumption. An investigation of the major components of these reports, however, reveals major differences across states, partly because of differing exemption patterns in state laws, partly because of differing state economies, but also partly because of differences in how the states define the normal structure for the tax. While some states identify consumption as the normal base fairly directly, other states have less focus and that shows up particularly in ambiguous treatment of purchases made by businesses and of services omitted from the tax base. Many states would profit from a focused discussion with lawmakers about the ideal revenue intent of their retail sales taxes.
Can a Single Performance Metric Do It All? A Case Study in Education Accountability
Authors: Kukla-Acevedo Sharon , Streams Megan E. , Toma Eugenia
Published: March 2011

Public administrators are committed to improving public service delivery, as evidenced by decades of accountability efforts at all levels of government. This movement is especially salient in the public education system, where student standardized test scores are increasingly used as the key performance metric to evaluate schools, teachers - and most recently - teacher preparation program (TPP) effectiveness. Evaluating TPPs using a single quantitative performance metric at the student level is a complicated endeavor. This paper illustrates a key challenge in this type of accountability system, not yet examined in the literature: graduates of individual TPPs tend to cluster in a very small number of districts. We present a case study to show how geographic stratification inhibits the ability of statistical models to disentangle the effect of district and school from TPP on student achievement, particularly in rural states.
Crossing the qualitative-quantitative chasm I
Authors: Sui Daniel , DeLyser Dydia
Published: March 2011

This report, the first of three, reviews methods and methodological approaches, qualitative and quantitative. In an effort to look beyond the qualitative-quantitative divide, two geographers with different methodological background and expertise write together. This first report reviews works under the broader context of hybrid geographies, the spatial turn, and the recent explosive growth of volunteered geographic information (VGI). The works reviewed seek to combine methodological approaches in creative ways, or to create other hybrid research methods, all to address the challenging problems of our times – problems that often demand synergy in methodology, holism in ontology, plurarism/open-mindedness in epistemology, and embracing diversity.
Short-term beach rotation, wave climate and the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO)
Authors: Thomas T. , Phillips M.R. , Williams A.T. , Jenkins R.E.
Published: March 2011

Beach profile surveys, offshore wave climate and variations in atmospheric conditions have been utilized to assess a short-term beach rotation phenomenon in a headland embayment Tenby, West Wales. Beach rotation, expressed by subaerial volumetric change, was shown by a negative phase relationship between beach extremities (r = —0.67), while cross-correlation at a one-month timelag increased statistical significance (r = 0.84). Due to beach aspect, gale wave heights decreased as wave direction rotated to the south (R2 = 0.4) and west (R 2 = 0.65), while offshore wave direction influenced change at the southern and northern extremities (R2 = 0.52 and 0.34, respectively). Shelter from offshore islands and Giltar Headland contributes via wave diffraction to accretive, erosive and rotational patterns, and these are sensitive to variations around the predominant wave direction (229°). A southerly shift induces north/south sediment movement, as waves diffract around the offshore islands, while a westerly change results in south/north sediment movement (i.e. beach rotation), as diffracted wave domination transfers to the headland. A general gale wave height reduction occurred when the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) was weak or in a transitional phase between positive or negative phases (R2 = 0.69 and R2 = 0.72, respectively). Morphological change was also attuned to atmospheric variation where a reversal in beach rotation was influenced by variations in positive and negative NAO/volume correlations and longshore profile location (R2 = 0.54 and 0.69, respectively). The results of this study have wider implications for coastal management; it is suggested that models developed in similar systems elsewhere will form the basis of human intervention or no active intervention strategies.
Interoperability and eGovernment
Authors: Gamero Eduardo
Published: March 2011

To achieve a significant level of interoperability in eGovernment, especially for political structures, such as federal states or the European Union, it is necessary to improve some rules concerning the eGovernment model and define a minimum standard for the different dimensions of interoperability. The legal dimension of interoperability consists of the rules concerning interoperability in a specific legal system and, so-called interoperability model. In this article, the author analyze the interoperability models of the European Communities and Spain. There are different legal models of interoperability according to four criteria of classification: volunteer or mandatory (binding), flexible or rigid, united or decentralized, and participatory or unilateral. In this article, the describe the characteristics of each of these criteria. The author defend the need to maintain mandatory frames of interoperability to the largest territorial level, whether united or decentralized. However, the ability to maintain these different mandatory frames faces several obstacles.
Succinct Survey Measures of Web-Use Skills
Authors: Hargittai Eszter , Hsieh Yuli Patrick
Published: March 2011

There is a dearth of survey instruments for measuring Internet skills. This article presents results from additional implementations of a previously-developed index measure. It considers the performance of the original instrument over time as well as shortened versions of it on two surveys of different populations. Drawing on analyses of five different data sets, the article makes recommendations for various length survey items for measuring people’s web-use skills.
Theorizing Punishment: Reflections on Wacquant’s Punishing the Poor
Authors: Lynch Mona
Published: March 2011

In this essay, I consider how Loic Wacquant’s Punishing the Poor adds to the diverse and growing body of scholarship about contemporary penal change. I begin with an overview of Wacquant’s major arguments and elucidations, then I focus in on how this work fits specifically within theorizations about, and empirical examinations of, late modern punishment. In so doing, I describe the ways in which this work seems to contribute to an ongoing conversation about penality, and then conclude with a discussion of how the arguments in Punishing the Poor might be complicated by attending to recent scholarship that looks at micro-level jurisdictional penal change, and the differences across place.
State Decay and Civil War: A Discourse on Power in Sierra Leone
Authors: Bakarr Bah Abu
Published: March 2011

Building upon the works of Karl Marx, Max Weber, Alexis de Tocqueville and Michel Foucault, this article develops a concept of power that bridges the structure-agency, control-benefit and macro-micro divides in sociology. Using Sierra Leone as a case study, the article identifies three forms of power that are manifested in political, economic, and everyday life situations. It traces political and economic power to the struggles for control over the government and the economic exploitation of the state by the elite. It argues that the forms of political and economic power that emerged in Sierra Leone led to state decay, which created conditions for the civil war. Furthermore, it examines the micro manifestation of power by combatants and ordinary people during the civil war. The article contributes to the theoretical discourse on power in sociology by bringing in an African political experience, which is often missing in sociological theory.
From Affirmative Action to Diversity: Erasing Inequality from Organizational Responsibility
Authors: Collins Sharon M.
Published: March 2011

This comment introduces the Special Issue on Diversity by providing an abbreviated social history of the evolution from affirmative action to diversity and outlines the themes of the volume.
Managing Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
Authors: Crete Joan , Adamshick Pamela
Published: March 2011

Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) experience symptoms such as irregular menses, hirsutism, and acne, and are at heightened risk for developing obesity, metabolic syndrome, diabetes mellitus, infertility, and some cancers. Data also indicate an inverse correlation between PCOS and health-related quality-of-life indicators and self-image. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe the lived experience of women with PCOS in the management of their disorder and the meaning of that experience for them. Design: This qualitative study was conducted using a phenomenological approach based on the guidelines of Van Manen. Method: Individual, semistructured interviews were completed with 10 participants who were diagnosed with PCOS and managed by a health care practitioner(s) within the past 5 years. Data were analyzed using the process of hermeneutic phenomenological reflection. Findings: The four major themes that described women’s lived experience of managing PCOS were frustration, confusion, searching, and gaining control. Conclusions: Women with PCOS face many challenges in managing their disorder and desire to gain control, balance, and well-being through a comprehensive treatment plan. The findings have implications for health care providers in addressing quality of life issues and overall health outcomes.
Re-framing End-Time Wonders: A Response to Hans Kvalbein
Authors: Rodríguez Rafael
Published: March 2011

In 1998 JSP published Hans Kvalbein’s analysis of 4Q521’s therapeutic language, in which Kvalbein pursued specifically (1) the question whether such language intends a literal or metaphorical referent, and (2) the parallels between 4Q521’s language and Mt. 11.5||Lk. 7.22. Kvalbein’s essay presents a careful analysis of the relation between tradition and the language used to express that tradition. Unfortunately, his essay assumes a too-rigid distinction between literal and metaphoric reference and neglects the complex relations that could obtain between language and tradition, past and present. This essay addresses that neglect and turns to recent sociological research in memory to uncover 4Q521’s and the gospel texts’ use of therapeutic traditions in Isaiah (and elsewhere) to identify and interpret their present situation(s).
The impact of insolation, greenhouse gas forcing and ocean circulation changes on glacial inception
Authors: Vettoretti G. , Peltier W.R.
Published: March 2011

In this study we employ the NCAR CCSM3 coupled model to investigate the onset of high northern latitude perennial snow cover. Two periods of Earth’s insolation history, that of the pre-industrial period and that of 116 ka before present (BP), are used as benchmarks in an investigation of the influences of interglacial greenhouse gas (GHG) concentration and insolation upon the occurrence of permanent summer snow cover. An additional two experiments at 10 ka and 51 ka into the future (AP) using a typical interglacial GHG level are used to investigate the length of the current interglacial. Results from this set of multicentury sensitivity experiments demonstrate the relative importance of forcings due to insolation and atmospheric greenhouse gases at the millennial scale, and of Atlantic ocean overturning strength (AMOC) at the century scale. We find that while areas of perennial snow cover are sensitive to GHG concentrations, they are much more sensitive to the contemporaneous insolation regime. The goodness of fit of the climatology of the control model to the modern observed climatology is found to influence the modeling results. While there is a strong correlation between AMOC decadal variability and high latitude surface temperature in our control climates, we find little change in AMOC strength during our simulations of 116 ka BP climate nor do we find significant correlation between high latitude snow accumulation and the AMOC. Both the 10 ka AP and 51 ka AP future simulations produce inception events which are much stronger than that of the equivalent pre-industrial simulation. The simulation of inception at 10 ka into the future suggests a maximum duration of the current interglacial of approximately 20 ka in the absence of modern anthropogenic forcing.
Effects of atorvastatin on fine particle-induced inflammatory response, oxidative stress and endothelial function in human umbilical vein endothelial cells
Authors: Zhao Jinzhuo , Xie Yuquan , Jiang Rongfang , Kan Haidong , Song Weimin
Published: March 2011

The study is to explore the toxicity of organic extracts and water-soluble fraction of fine particles on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). The exposure doses were 100, 200 and 400 μg/ml, respectively, for two kinds of fractions. Moreover, atorvastatin was used for intervention study. HUVECs were stimulated by 400 μg/ml organic and water soluble extracts, respectively, immediately followed by treatment with atorvastatin in concentrations of 0.1 μmol/L, 1 μmol/L and 10 μmol/L, respectively. Cell viability, malondialdehyde (MDA), nitric oxide (NO), superoxide dismutase (SOD), reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the expression of interleukin-6 beta (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), endothelin-1 and P-selectin were determined in cells. The results showed that MDA and ROS increased in HUVECs after exposed to organic extracts and water-soluble fraction, whereas cell viability, NO and SOD decreased. The mRNA expression of IL-6, TNF-α, endothelin-1 (ET-1) and P-selectin increased after exposed to different fractions. Meanwhile, at the same exposure dose, water-soluble fraction caused more significant increase of MDA, IL-6, TNF-α and P-selectin and decrease of cell viability and NO when compared to organic extracts. Compared to no atorvastatin group, the levels of MDA, ROS and the expression of IL-6, TNF-α, ET-1 and P-selectin decreased in HUVECs in adding atorvastatin group, but cell viability, NO and SOD increased, which indicated that atorvastatin attenuated fine particle-induced inflammatory response, oxidative stress and endothelial damage. The results hinted that the inflammatory response, oxidative stress and endothelial dysfunction might be the mechanisms of cardiovascular injury induced by different fractions of ambient fine particles.
New forms of territorial governance in metropolitan regions? A Polish–German comparison
Authors: Lackowska Marta , Zimmermann Karsten
Published: March 2011

The governance of metropolitan affairs emerges as one of the crucial issues in many countries. The academic debate shows a bias towards categories and descriptions based on North American and, to a lesser degree, West European experiences. Based on the results of comparative research on metropolitan regions in Germany and in Poland, we can say that there is much more diversity than convergence in the practice of regional reform in the studied cases. Moreover, the normative and analytical framework of the new regionalism is not as appropriate to describe the Polish and – to a lesser extent – the German metropolitan reality as it is widely assumed. Recently emerging metropolitan arrangements bear the features of novelty, but at the same time most of them still lean strongly on governmental premises. Surprisingly, despite obvious differences between the two countries, some cross-national similarities are noticeable between the metropolises, which share some characteristics such as the position of a front-runner in the national economy or the national exponent in the global city hierarchy. The main difference can be identified in the economic focus of the metropolitan governance arrangements. Whereas this is a dominant approach in German city-regions, in Poland it still remains low on the agenda, at least in practice. Moreover the involvement of non-governmental actors in metropolitan initiatives is much lower in Poland.
A research note on accounting in Brazil in the context of political, economic and social transformations, 1860-1964
Authors: Rodrigues Lúcia Lima , Schmidt Paulo , Santos José Luis dos , Fonseca Pedro Cezar Dutra
Published: March 2011

From 1860 to 1964, but particularly after 1930, Brazilian society changed from an agrarian to an industrial society and from an emphasis on the export sector to becoming focused primarily on the domestic market. During this period, there were significant changes in accounting that were largely imposed by the State. This note explores the main political, economic and social factors that influenced the development of accounting in Brazil during this period. In a legalist country such as Brazil the development of accounting cannot be effectively studied without considering how accounting affects, and is affected by, the political and social context. The note ends with a call for further accounting history studies about Brazil based on archives and primary sources.
Agency reversal and the steward’s lot when discharge exceeds charge: English archival evidence, 1739-1890
Authors: Baker Mae , Eadsforth Caroline
Published: March 2011

This study examines the charge—discharge accounting system of a Yorkshire landowning charitable trust during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. One unusual feature of the accounts is that, on many occasions, the Trust appeared to be indebted to its bailiff for long periods of time. The article draws on previous work on such credit balances to explore possible explanations for this apparent reversal of the normal principal—agent position. It confirms the proposition that a credit balance on the accounts represented amounts owed to the bailiff/steward, rather than inclusion of other creditors’ balances. However, the cash-based charge—discharge accounting system was utilized to maintain the record of any ongoing indebtedness of the Trust to the bailiff. The question of how and why such credit balances were sustained by the bailiff is examined, and the conclusion reached that, in this case, the explanation may well rest in the financial status of the bailiff/steward.
Review of Virtual Environment Studies on Social and Group Phenomena
Authors: Sivunen Anu , Hakonen Marko
Published: March 2011

This article provides a review of previously published studies on virtual environments (VEs), focusing especially on empirical articles on social and group phenomena in VEs and their methodological and theoretical trends. VEs can be defined as communication systems in which interactants share the same three-dimensional digital space and can navigate, manipulate objects, and interact with one another via avatars. When examining the methodological and theoretical choices of these studies, four trends could be identified that characterize group studies on VEs: (a) testing the applicability of real-life, social behavior norms in VEs, (b) a lack of work group studies using VEs, (c) the micro-level treatment of social and groups, and (d) a lack of covering theory. Propositions for future research are presented.
Does Backing Up Behavior Explain the Efficacy—Performance Relationship in Teams?
Authors: Porter Christopher O.L.H. , Itir Gogus Celile , Yu Race Chien-Feng
Published: March 2011

Although the relationship between collective efficacy beliefs and team performance has been well-documented, few studies have explored the causal mechanisms that might explain these effects. In the current study, the authors explore the role of backing up behavior, a specific form of teamwork behavior, in explaining why high efficacy beliefs lead to high levels of team performance. Participants were 416 undergraduate business students who were organized into 104 four-person teams. The teams worked on an interdependent, computerized, decision-making task. Results of the study revealed that collective efficacy beliefs were positively related to team performance and that backing up behaviors largely mediated these effects. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.
Effects of Anonymity and Social Comparison of Rewards on Computer-Mediated Group Brainstorming
Authors: McLeod Poppy Lauretta
Published: March 2011

Anonymity in computer-mediated communication (CMC) is valued in organizations because it can facilitate participation in discussions, especially of sensitive issues. Concerns over maintaining the motivation to participate in such discussions, because of the inability to reward people for their contributions, have led to the development of techniques that allow rewards to be allocated without identifying their distributors and recipients. It was hypothesized, however, that anonymous rewards are not equivalent to identified rewards in the ability to motivate people. Results from a laboratory experiment using a group electronic brainstorming task supported this hypothesis. Task effort was higher when reward recipients were identified than when they were anonymous; comparing rewards further increased the effects of identification. Identification combined with comparison increased task effort slightly more for recipients of the middle level than the top or bottom levels of rewards. Negligible effects were found for idea quality. Implications are discussed for anonymity, comparison targets, task structure, and the intersection of technical and social factors in organizations.
Ghosting Authenticity: Characterization in Corporate Speechwriting
Authors: Bruss Kristine S.
Published: March 2011

One of the most distinctive stylistic virtues of speechwriting is characterization, the art of capturing a client’s voice in a believable and engaging manner. This article examines characterization in the context of corporate communication, interweaving an interview with veteran executive speechwriter Alan Perlman with accounts from the ancient rhetorical tradition. As the analysis shows, Perlman’s approach to characterization confirms long-standing rhetorical wisdom yet incorporates insights that reflect the contemporary corporate context in which he has worked. The analysis also calls attention to enduring tensions in characterization—tensions between imitation and representation, effectiveness and ethics, and dramatic character and trustworthy ethos.
Visuospatial Thinking in the Professional Writing Classroom
Authors: Lauer Claire , Sanchez Christopher A.
Published: March 2011

It has been suggested that teaching professional writing students how to think visually can improve their ability to design visual texts. This article extends this suggestion and explores how the ability to think visuospatially influenced students’ success at designing visual texts in a small upper-division class on visual communication. Although all the students received the same instruction, students who demonstrated higher spatial faculties were more successful at developing and designing visual materials than were the other students in the class. This result suggests that the ability to think visuospatially is advantageous for learning how to communicate visually and that teaching students to think visuospatially should be a primary instructional focus to maximize all student learning.
Sentencing Circles in Canada and the Gacaca in Rwanda: A Comparative Analysis
Authors: Jones Nicholas A. , Nestor Rob
Published: March 2011

This paper provides a theoretically based comparison of sentencing circles practiced by the First Nations Peoples of Canada with the Gacaca courts in Rwanda. It presents a description of each justice-oriented model and compares them engaging a restorative justice theoretical framework. It employs McCold’s typology and Zehr’s continuum in determining the relative ‘‘restorativeness’’ of each model. It then compares the models by exploring some key theoretical elements posited in the purist—maximalist debate in restorative justice and Braithwaite’s theory of responsive regulation. Using the comparisons this paper seeks to contribute to the purist—maximalist debate, providing insight into contentious concepts through their examination in two very different contextual settings. It is posited that Braithwaite’s theory of responsive regulation provides a structure that addresses the concerns noted in the two models as well as provides for the pursuit of holistic restorative practices while accommodating other restorative processes.
Holistic visual encoding of ant-like routes: Navigation without waypoints
Authors: Baddeley Bart , Graham Paul , Philippides Andrew , Husbands Philip
Published: March 2011

It is known that ants learn long visually guided routes through complex terrain. However, the mechanisms by which visual information is first learned and then used to control a route direction are not well understood. In this article, we propose a parsimonious mechanism for visually guided route following. We investigate whether a simple approach, involving scanning the environment and moving in the direction that appears most familiar, can provide a model of visually guided route learning in ants. We implement view familiarity as a means of navigation by training a classifier to determine whether a given view is part of a route and using the confidence in this classification as a proxy for familiarity. Through the coupling of movement and viewing direction, a familiar view specifies a familiar direction of viewing and thus a familiar movement to make. We show the feasibility of our approach as a model of ant-like route acquisition by learning a series of nontrivial routes through an indoor environment using a large gantry robot equipped with a panoramic camera.
Thinking and sociology
Authors: Swedberg Richard
Published: March 2011

This paper attempts to introduce the topic of thinking into current sociology and to raise the question whether a sociology of thinking might be possible and, if so, what such a sociology could look like. Thinking is typically seen as something intensely private and fleeting in nature, two qualities that make it resistant to sociology’s efforts to get a grip on it. Earlier attempts to make a sociological analysis of thinking are surveyed, from Durkheim over the sociology of knowledge to today’s sociology of ideas and other approaches. An argument is made that a sociology of thinking could get some important inspiration from philosophy, especially when it comes to topics to analyze and the setting of an agenda. To exemplify this argument, some writings on thinking by Kant, Kierkegaard, and Heidegger are presented. The paper ends with some reflections on the normative dimension of thinking and a sociology of thinking.
The relationship between left ventricular hypervoltage and CYP11B2 (344T/C) polymorphism in Keriyans
Authors: Haitao Cao  , Changchun Qiu  , Pengcheng Zhu  , Wenquan Niu  , Fenghui Chen  , Zhe Zhou  , Wufuer Mayila , Junxia Hao  , Zuheng Cheng
Published: March 2011

Introduction: The ‘desert people’ or Keriyans are able to maintain normal body functions whilst living in the hot, arid areas of Taklimakan Desert. However, little is known about the adaptive mechanisms in this extreme environment. We explored the relationship between polymorphism of C-344T in the promoter region of the aldosterone synthase gene (CYP11B2) and resting electrocardiogram (ECG) hypervoltage in this population.

Materials and methods: The study recruited 503 Keriyans who were living in the Taklimakan Desert and 237 age/gendermatched controls from the Uighurs living in neighbouring villages. Parameters of physical fitness, ECGs, and biochemistry were compared between the two groups. The C-344T single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the promoter region of CYP11B2 was genotyped by polymerase chain reaction based restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and sequencing.

Results: The incidence of ECG left ventricular hypervoltage in the Keriyans was significantly higher than that in the controls ( p < 0.001). The frequency of allele 344T was higher in this population than that in the controls (OR = 1.48; 95% CI:1.082—2.023). A higher OR for allele 344T was also seen in Keriyans with ECG left ventricular hypervoltage against those without this finding (OR = 1.557; 95% CI:1.032—2.349).

Conclusion: The polymorphism of C-344T in the promoter region of the CYP11B2 gene was associated with ECG left ventricular hypervoltage in the Keriyan population.
Making an ‘impact’
Authors: Looseley David
Published: March 2011

This article brings together reflections on the impact agenda from two separate sources: a conference at the University of Warwick in August 2009, and a speech given at the University of Leeds some weeks before. It develops these reflections with particular reference to Modern Languages, reviewing how the Humanities probe other value systems, deal with the singular and provisional, and take discourse as their product and process in ways that offer both theoretical and pragmatic benefits. The article suggests that, rather than simply jumping on the bandwagon of ‘measurement’ and the market where impact is concerned, the Humanities should explore ways of rethinking the outdated, simplistic ‘marketmimicry’ that Michael Sandel critiqued in his 2009 Reith lectures.
Challenging the curriculum: Exploring the discipline boundaries in art, design and media
Authors: Wareing Shân
Published: March 2011

This review of the 5th International Conference held by the University of the Arts London’s Centre for Learning and Teaching in Art and Design, 12 and 13 April 2010 at the Novotel, Tiergarten, Berlin, briefly summarizes the contributions of three keynote speakers, and considers some of the issues they raised.
Towards a pedagogy of uncertainty
Authors: Coventry Michael
Published: March 2011

This article introduces a forum of response articles to the edited volume Masculinities in Text and Teaching. The forum features two scholars of English in a transatlantic conversation and then a response by the editor of the volume. The forum develops, from the edited collection, the theme of pedagogical uncertainty in studies of masculinity and the ways those conversations can be used to help students develop their own humanistic ethics in the classroom. Employing two styles of doing work on teaching from the perspective of textual scholars, the author of one article reads her own experience and classroom moments to build an argument about the high stakes of doing work around gender for students and the profession. The other author reads from both classroom experience and from a text she teaches to open up new pedagogical possibilities. These techniques are echoed in the collected volume. A key argument throughout is that classroom struggles around texts and identities — which often provoke feelings of vulnerability and uncertainty for both teachers and students — can be deployed in conversations that enable students to learn about both the humanities subject and themselves.
Masculinities in dialogue
Authors: Knights Ben
Published: March 2011

This response to the articles by Diana Wallace and Samantha Pinto seeks to locate the negotiation of gendered identities in the classroom within the larger study of the dialogic relations between texts, teachers, and students. Teaching, it proposes, is not a second-order derivative of scholarship, but a cultural form in its own right. The article suggests the continuing cultural and ethical importance of the study of masculinities within textual subjects, and argues the need to complement research on the experience of teachers with paying detailed attention to student writing and the student experience.
Heart rate response to exercise and cardiorespiratory fitness of young women at high familial risk for hypertension: effects of interval vs continuous training
Authors: Ciolac Emmanuel G , Bocchi Edimar A , Greve Julia MD , Guimarães Guilherme V
Published: March 2011

Exercise training is an effective intervention for treating and preventing hypertension, but its effects on heart rate (HR) response to exercise and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) of non-hypertensive offspring of hypertensive parents (FH+) has not been studied. We compared the effects of three times per week equal-volume high-intensity aerobic interval (AIT) and continuous moderate-intensity exercise (CME) on HR response to exercise and CRF of FH+. Forty-four young FH+ women (25.0 ± 4.4 years) randomized to control (CON; n = 12), AIT (80–90% of VO2MAX; n = 16), or CME (50–60% of VO2MAX; n = 16) performed a graded exercise test (GXT) before and after 16 weeks of follow-up to evaluate HR response to exercise and several parameters of CRF. Resting, maximal, and reserve HR did not change after the follow-up in all groups. HR recovery (difference between HRMAX and HR at 1 minute of GXT recovery phase) improved only after AIT (11.8 ± 4.9 vs. 20.6 ± 5.8 bpm, p < 0.01). Both exercise programmes were effective for improving CRF parameters, but AIT was more effective than CME for improving oxygen consumption at the respiratory compensation point (VO2RCP; 22.1% vs. 8.8%, p = 0.008) and maximal effort (VO2MAX; 15.8% vs. 8.0%, p = 0.036), as well as tolerance time (TT) to reach anaerobic threshold (TTAT; 62.0 vs. 37.7, p = 0.048), TTRCP (49.3 vs. 32.9, p = 0.032), and TTMAX (38.9 vs. 29.2, p = 0.042). Exercise intensity was an important factor in improving HR recovery and CRF of FH+women. These findings may have important implications for designing exercise-training programmes for the prevention of an inherited hypertensive disorder.
Additive prognostic value of subjective assessment with respect to clinical cardiological data in patients with chronic heart failure
Authors: Majani Giuseppina , Pierobon Antonia , Pinna Gian Domenico , Giardini Anna , Maestri Roberto , La Rovere Maria Teresa
Published: March 2011

Background: Health-related quality of life tools that better reflect the unique subjective perception of heart failure (HF) are needed for patients with this disorder. The aim of this study was to explore whether subjective satisfaction of HF patients about daily life may provide additional prognostic information with respect to clinical cardiological data.

Methods: One hundred and seventy-eight patients (age 51 ± 9 years) with moderate to severe HF [New York Heart Association (NYHA) class 2.0 ± 0.7; left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) 29 ± 8%] in stable clinical condition underwent a standard clinical evaluation and compiled the Satisfaction Profile (SAT-P) questionnaire focusing on subjective satisfaction with daily life. Cox regression analysis was used to assess whether SAT-P factors (psychological functioning, physical functioning, work, sleep/eating/leisure, social functioning) had any prognostic value.

Results: Forty-six cardiac deaths occurred during a median of 30 months. Patients who died had higher NYHA class, more depressed left ventricular function, reduced systolic blood pressure (SBP), increased heart rate (HR), and worse biochemistry (all p < 0.05). Among the SAT-P factors, only Physical functioning (PF) was significantly reduced in the patients who died ( p = 0.003). Using the best subset selection procedure, Resistance to physical fatigue (RPF) was selected from among the items of the PF factor. RPF showed independent predictive value when entered into a prognostic model including NYHA class, LVEF, SBP, and HR with an adjusted hazard ratio of 0.86 per 10 units increase (95% CI 0.75–0.98, p = 0.02).

Conclusions: Patients’ dissatisfaction with physical functioning is associated with reduced long-term survival, after adjustment for known risk factors in HF. Given its user-friendly structure, simplicity, and significant prognostic value, the RPF score may represent a useful instrument in clinical practice.
Managing ‘difficult emotions’ and family life: exploring insights and social support within online self-management training
Authors: Sanders C. , Rogers A. , Gardner C. , Kennedy A.
Published: March 2011

Background: Previous research has demonstrated how the Internet can foster emotional support and provide a ‘private’ space for discussing sensitive issues. Whilst the family has been located as a primary source of support, empirical research on the dynamics of close personal relationships in chronic illness experience remains a challenge.

Objective: To explore the role of family relationships in supporting self-care and the nature of social support exchanged within an online self-management training course.

Methods: Qualitative thematic and narrative analysis of online discussion boards. Postings for 218 participants, divided between 11 groups were included for a course section that focused on ‘difficult emotions’.

Results: Participants exchanged a high degree of emotional support and revealed much about their ‘real life’ relationships. The latter highlighted the complexities of managing illness within family contexts alongside additional pressures of daily life such as caring commitments and work roles.

Discussion: The private interactive space created within the course allowed insights into the dynamics of family life associated with illness management that are challenging to research. Simultaneously, collective support was developed amongst this group of predominantly working women. The article points to the implications for such interventions and associated evaluative research beyond this selective group.
The working life of electronic monitoring officers
Authors: Hucklesby Anthea
Published: March 2011

Monitoring officers are responsible for putting electronic monitoring (EM) policy into practice and ensuring that offenders are monitored and that alleged non-compliance is investigated. Arguably, they are a new criminal justice profession and exploring their working values and practices is important if we are to understand how EM operates and to address questions about its effectiveness. This article explores monitoring officers’ attitudes to their work and their working practices. It highlights how safety concerns impact upon their work and identifies a range of strategies which are used to deal with their anxieties. It also examines whether monitoring officers have an identifiable occupational culture concluding that while they share a working orientation, a strong cohesive occupational culture is absent. However, differences in working values were identified among monitoring officers, which mirror the range of working credos identified in other criminal justice professionals. The extent to which the work of monitoring officers is affected by EM being operated by the private sector is also explored as well as the policy implications of the findings.
Putting the offender back into sentencing: An empirical study of the public’s understanding of personal mitigation
Authors: Lovegrove Austin
Published: March 2011

In recent times judicial sentencing has become harsher. This is in response, at least in part, to the public’s apparent view of mitigation personal to the offender as of little importance, particularly in serious cases. Recent research on factors seen by the public as mitigating is consistent with this. But perhaps humanity in sentencing would emerge if people were given detailed information about cases and felt they were dealing with a real person, and that their responses were important? The present study tested this. Judges presented four actual cases, involving six offenders, to over 470 participants in 32 groups around Victoria, Australia. The participants responded by discussing the judges’ sentences in these groups (after individually imposing sentences for these offenders). In fact, the participants found numerous matters involving culpability, rehabilitation and mercy to be mitigating. Thus, it would seem, calls from among the public for tougher sentencing and the judiciary’s acquiescence in this are not well founded. Moreover, for research on personal mitigation, how the offender is presented to participants appears to matter.
What women want: The importance of qualitative approaches in evaluating work with women offenders
Authors: Hedderman Carol , Gunby Clare , Shelton Nicola
Published: March 2011

In 2004 the Government in England and Wales published a new policy on responding to women who offend. The aims were to reduce women’s involvement in crime and to divert them from prison. The ‘Together Women’ project was funded under this policy initiative to demonstrate how services for women offenders should be provided in the community. The first stage of the associated evaluation included interviews with Together Women’s clients as their feedback was seen as important in helping to develop effective services and as an early indicator of impact. However, the final assessment of impact relies on a quantitative assessment based on project files and criminal records data. The only interviews to be conducted will focus on asking sentencers about whether they use Together Women to divert women from custody.

This article draws on interviews conducted with Together Women clients in the project’s development phase to argue that outcome evaluations which rely exclusively or mainly on information in project databases and criminal records may not capture key elements which make an intervention ‘work’. Neglecting service users’ insights may lead to under-estimating resource needs, unrealistic target setting, and the eventual abandonment of promising ideas in favour of the next ‘new’ magic bullet.