bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cultivating dispersed collectivity: How communities between organizations sustain employee activism
Authors: Stöber Anna , Girschik Verena
Published: October 2024

Pushing for social change at work is frustrating and precarious. Many employee activists therefore seek support in communities that form around their aspirations and reside ‘between’ organizations. This article advances our understanding of how community participation shapes employee activists’ experiences of their change agency as they return to and pursue their social purpose in their corporate lives. Grounded in an in-depth qualitative study of an inter-organizational community of employee activists, we introduce the notion of ‘dispersed collectivity’: employee activists generate a shared sense of collectivity that they maintain even as they disperse into their workplaces. Dispersed collectivity enables subtle agentic experiences by emboldening employee activists to endure their often-challenging corporate lives, unsettle corporate norms, and detach from their corporate positions. Even without mobilizing a collective push for change across firms, communities can thus play a critical role in sustaining employee activism. Our study contributes a more nuanced account of employee activists’ change agency and offers new theoretical insights into the role of inter-organizational communities in social change, the practices they can use to build collective momentum and empathic connections, and their impact on employee activists’ determination to drive social change from within.
Migrants and Xenophobic Attacks in South Africa: Theory and Evidence
Authors: Chekenya Nixon S.
Published: October 2024

Acts of xenophobia are a persistent feature of life in South Africa. Daily animosity often spills over into violence against both locals and mostly migrants and their economic enterprises. One argument is that xenophobia has characterized post-apartheid South Africa partly due to increased migration flows. Can migration cause xenophobia? Using data from Xenowatch Reports, we examine the impact of migration flows from Zimbabwe on the onset and persistence of acts of collective violence targeted at foreign nationals’ lives and their foreign-owned businesses in South Africa. Results show that increased migration flows from Zimbabwe into South Africa leads to ethnic polarization, cultural diversity, and intolerance by residents toward immigrants. The variable migrants has a positive but statistically insignificant effect on xenophobia. However, migration can impact xenophobia through inducing ethnic fractionalization, cultural diversity and ethnic polarization, intolerance, and hostility with the coefficients of ethnic fractionalization and cultural diversity being positive and statistically significant and supporting the hypothesis that more migration flows from Zimbabwe lead to more xenophobic attacks in South Africa. These findings aid our understanding of the economic consequences of xenophobia.

JEL codes: Q15, Q32, Q54
Industry Trade Exposure and the Quality of Employment in India’s Manufacturing Sector
Authors: Gangwani Isha
Published: October 2024

Globalization, trade and labour institutions have implications on the labour market affecting the regular nature of jobs and increasing dependence on contract labour. Using worker-level data for India’s manufacturing sector, this paper evaluates the influence of outward orientation of the worker’s industry on the informal nature of employment. We find that higher import penetration and export orientation of the manufacturing industries of workers promote employment of regular nature. However, the regular jobs come tied up with lack of job contracts in industries facing higher import competition. Export-oriented industries increase the chances of regular jobs with a written job contract.
Communist Ideals to Capitalist Realities: Uncovering Kerala Model’s Struggle with Foreign Aid(ed) Dependency and Disempowerment of the Marginalized
Authors: Sebastian Antony Jacob
Published: October 2024

This article analyses Kerala’s development model through dependency theory, highlighting its reliance on foreign aid and consequent policy constraints. It examines how tied loans eroded Kerala’s policy autonomy and social model, disproportionately affecting marginalized groups. The state’s financial crisis and strained central relations led to accepting loans with neoliberal conditionalities, undermining welfare policies. Using the World Bank-funded Jalanidhi project as a case study, it contextualizes Kerala’s aid dependence within global capitalism, where aid often acts as “euphemized domination.” It reveals the model’s vulnerabilities, interlinked with exploitative global relations, and advocates for economic restructuring fostering self-reliance and people-centered development.
Clause-Final Adverbs in Colloquial Singapore English Revisited
Authors: Lim Jun Jie , Hiramoto Mie , Leimgruber Jakob R. E. , Gonzales Wilkinson Daniel Wong
Published: October 2024

Many scholars consider clause-final adverbs (CFAs) like already, also, and only to be a prominent feature of Colloquial Singapore English (CSE), but little is known about their use in present-day CSE. Using data from the Corpus of Singapore English Messages (CoSEM), we investigate patterns of variation involving CFAs and examine whether they are sensitive to factors such as speaker age and gender. We find that clause-final already and only has increased over time, while clause-final also has remained stable. Overall, the results suggest that CFAs are a stable feature of CSE. Variation in the use of CFAs is conditioned by semantic function, age, and gender. Specifically, clause-final already is associated with the inceptive function. Clause-final already and also are more likely to be used by younger speakers, while clause-final also and only are more likely to be used by males and in all-male conversational settings respectively. We suggest that these patterns are due to present-day English-Mandarin bilingualism, increasingly positive attitudes toward CSE, and National Service for males.
Progressive Functional Analysis and Function-Based Intervention Via Telehealth: A Replication and Extension
Authors: Exline Emily , McGinnis Kristina , Garza Serena R. , Gerow Stephanie , Sulak Tracey N. , Austin Monserrat
Published: October 2024

The purpose of this study was to evaluate a progressive functional analysis (FA) model and function-based intervention delivered by caregivers with coaching via telehealth. Children diagnosed with autism and at least one caregiver (e.g., parent) participated in the study. We conducted three assessments prior to and following intervention: a researcher-developed 10-min observation, the Parental Stress Index, and the externalizing section of the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Rating Scales, Third Edition (VABS-3). We included 47 participants in the present evaluation of the progressive FA model. We identified the function of challenging behavior for 36 participants. A function was not identified for nine participants who exhibited low or no challenging behavior during the assessment; the results were inconclusive for two participants. For the 17 participants who participated in the intervention evaluation phase, each of the participants achieved the mastery criterion, which was an 80% reduction in challenging behavior for most participants. Additionally, there was a statistically significant decrease in the VABS-3 externalizing behavior measure from pre- to post-assessment, although neither of the other pre-post measures resulted in statistically significant changes. This study replicates and extends previous research, supporting the use of progressive FA model and function-based interventions to improve challenging behavior.
Gender Stereotypes About Career and Family Are Stronger in More Economically Developed Countries and Can Explain the Gender Equality Paradox
Authors: Napp Clotilde
Published: October 2024

Using data from Project Implicit collected between 2005 and 2020, comprising 1,489,721 observations in 111 countries, we find that implicit and explicit gender stereotypes about career and family are more pronounced in more economically developed countries. Besides, these gender stereotypes are strongly correlated at the country level with gender differences in values (such as family values), self-reported personality traits (such as agreeableness or dependence), and occupational preferences (such as health-related occupations), and may account for the fact that these gender imbalances are “paradoxically” stronger in more economically developed countries (the so-called “gender equality paradox”).

In line with social role theory, our findings suggest that there are in developed countries strong gender stereotypes about career and family, which may at least partly explain the persistence or even the “paradoxical worsening” of a number of gender differences in these countries, despite generally high levels of gender equality in other areas.
Development overview and research hotspots of Information Science & Library Science based on SSCI data
Authors: Lyu Peng-Hui , Zhu Li-Na , Zhang Ze-Hua
Published: October 2024

This study uses the scientometric method to analyse the literature to summarise the development overview and research hotspots in the field of Library and Information Science (LIS), aiming at sorting out the knowledge structure of the discipline and providing references and information for deepening its research and development. This article takes 85 Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) journals in the field of LIS as the research object, from which 116,570 articles from 1900 to 2023 are collected as the basis of data analysis. It employs the scientometric method based on visualisation software to analyse four dimensions of the LIS discipline: annual publications, journal outputs distribution, production and cooperation, and present focus and research hotspots, finding that the overall development of the discipline is stable and shows some new topics.
Allocation or Skill? What is Driving Corporate Trading Performance in the EU ETS?
Authors: Lehmann Sascha , Schleich Joachim , Pinkse Jonatan
Published: October 2024

This study empirically analyzes factors related to companies’ profits from trading emission allowances in the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) for the period from 2005 to 2017 by combining information on trading activities with company characteristics of more than 6,000 companies. The factors considered include net position (i.e., free allocation of allowances minus emissions), strategic skills (i.e., banking of allowances, timing of trading, transaction frequency, use of intermediaries), skill-related structural factors (i.e., number of installations, sector affiliation), market pressure, year, and region effects. The results from estimating a Panel Heckman Selection Model suggest that companies’ profits from buying and selling emission allowances are related to a company’s net position, banking of allowances, timing of trading, and the number of installations. The findings further indicate that companies choose the number of banked allowances efficiently, that is, they take into account the opportunity costs of selling these allowances on the market.

JEL Classification: Q48, Q54, Q58
Assessing the Future of Oil and Gas Production and Local Government Revenue in Five Western US Basins
Authors: Prest Brian , Raimi Daniel , Whitlock Zachary D.
Published: October 2024

Oil and gas production is a major source of public revenue in many US regions, but uncertainty exists over the future of demand for hydrocarbons. We model how oil and gas production and related government revenue change in five western US basins depending on future oil and natural gas prices under three scenarios of climate policy ambition. We find that the Green River and San Juan basins experience production declines across all scenarios, while production in the Bakken, Permian, and Powder River basins are more dependent on prices. Government revenue generally follows the direction of production, but these relationships are not directly proportional. Under the lower price scenarios, revenue declines more steeply than production because it reflects both production and prices, which both decline. Long-term permanent funds, which are in place across all the states we examine, provide an important fiscal cushion for school districts, their primary beneficiary.

JEL Classification: H71, H72, H73, O13, Q41, Q48
Mild hypercapnia before reperfusion reduces ischemia-reperfusion injury in hyperacute ischemic stroke rat model
Authors: Jung Jae Wook , Yoon Chung Eun , Kwon Il , Lee Kee Ook , Kim Jinkwon , Kim Young Dae , Heo Ji Hoe , Nam Hyo Suk
Published: October 2024

Endovascular thrombectomy has a recanalization rate over 80%; however, approximately 50% of ischemic stroke patients still experience dependency or mortality. Recently, clinical trials demonstrated the benefits of administering neuroprotective agents prior to endovascular thrombectomy. Additionally, recent studies showed neuroprotective effects of mild hypercapnia in patients resuscitated after cardiac arrest. However, its efficacy in ischemic stroke remains unclear. We aimed to investigate whether carbon dioxide (CO2) per-conditioning has neuroprotective effects in rat models with middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). Rat models received intermittent inhalation of mixed gas during the MCAO period. After surgery, behavioral assessments, infarct size measurement, immunohistochemistry, and western blot analysis were performed. We found CO2 per-conditioning reduced infarct size and neurological deficit. The number of 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) positive cells and matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9)/platelet derived growth factor receptor beta (PDGFRβ) double positive cells were significantly decreased after CO2 per-conditioning. The expressions of tight junction protein and pericytes survival were preserved. This study underscores mild hypercapnia before reperfusion not only reduces neurologic deficit and infarct size, but also maintains the integrity of the blood-brain barrier and neurovascular unit, alongside mitigating oxidative stress in hyperacute stroke rat models. Therapeutic mild hypercapnia before reperfusion is promising and requires further clinical application.
Development of a Comprehensive Safety Evaluation Mechanism for the Highway Bus Industry
Authors: Chen Chia-Hung , Tsao Yu-Chung , Chen Ching-Hao , Lin Tzu-Haun , Vu Thuy-Linh
Published: October 2024

A suitable mechanism for evaluating the safety of the highway bus industry is crucial for ensuring public transportation safety in a country. In this study, we have combined indices from the Compliance Safety Accountability (CSA) program of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) in the US, the safety evaluation of renting buses in Japan, and some existing safety evaluation methods in Taiwan to develop a new safety evaluation mechanism for the highway bus industry. This paper introduces a two-stage decision making approach that includes the use of fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (Fuzzy AHP) and machine learning techniques such as decision trees, support vector machines, and random forests to develop this mechanism. The data used in this research were collected from the internet and directly from highway bus transportation companies. We calculated the safety performance of each company and assigned them different safety ranks. Compared with the causes of accidents in Taiwan, the results of this study showed that work hours, driver fitness, and administrative penalties are the three most important sub-attributes that affect the safety rank of the company.
Introducing Economics Students to Marxist Political Economy: Mental and Physical Health in the Workplace
Authors: Deane Kevin , Chukwuma Julia
Published: October 2024

Introducing economics students to Marxist political economy (MPE) can be a challenging endeavor, especially as there is often limited space in the curriculum. Given this constraint, it can be difficult to know where to start and how to best do justice to the complexity and depth of Marx’s work. Students can find MPE daunting, approach the topic with a range of preconceptions, and find it hard to see the immediate relevance. This case study of our teaching practice illustrates how we have approached this issue by introducing students to MPE with an application to physical and mental health in the workplace. By starting with students’ own experiences of work, we help them unpack how and why the workplace is structured in the way it is. Initial discussions about the workplace, including about situations in which students have tried to avoid doing work, enable some initial theoretical categories to be developed, such as the distinction between labor and labor power, as well as other observations about how their workplaces are organized to extract labor from them, and the unequal rewards from the output of the work that they do. This provides a way into a more formal theoretical presentation of MPE, but one that is rooted in the lived experience of students. We then look at the implications and effects that the labor process has on physical and mental health (which Marx documents in Capital volume 1) using case studies from across the globe, including Amazon warehouse workers in the United States and United Kingdom, and textile workers in India. By teaching MPE in this way, we aim to demonstrate how the logic of capitalism imposes itself on the workplace and shapes daily life, and we hope this can inspire students to explore Marx’s work further.

JEL Classification: I2, P1
Effects of Block-Based Visual Programming on K-12 Students’ Learning Outcomes
Authors: Yu Qing , Yu Kun , Li Baomin
Published: October 2024

Computer programming is regarded as an important skill for the future. However, many K-12 students face challenges and difficulties in learning traditional text-based programming. Block-based visual programming (BVP) can reduce the difficulty of learning programming and is seen as a potential programming education tool. Nevertheless, the effects of BVP on K-12 student learning outcomes remain unclear, and there is no evidence of meta-analysis. This is the first meta-analysis that aims to examine the effects of BVP on K-12 students’ learning based on 42 effect sizes from 29 independent experimental studies (2000–2023). The result suggests that BVP has an upper-medium effect on learning ( SMD = 0.769, 95% CI = [0.554, 0.984], p < .001), particularly in the cognitive outcome ( SMD = 0.698, p < .001). Moreover, the BVP tool, study design, and region have moderating effects. The BVP’s effects are larger when: (1) with 61∼100 students, (2) for junior high school, (3) with the learning duration of >1 month, (4) targeting math, (5) among novice students, (6) using Scratch, ScratchJr, Alice, and App Inventor, (7) employing project-based learning and project-based + game-based learning, (8) base on quasi-experimental design, (9) in Africa and Europe, (10) with latter publication years. Finally, discussions, implications, limitations, and future directions are put forward.
Social Comparison, Belongingness, Self-Doubt, and Stress: The Case of Hispanic Students at Hispanic Majority Institutions
Authors: Huynh Ho Phi , Thomas Jasmyne , Castellanos Isabella , Weatherford Dawn R. , Lilley Malin K.
Published: October 2024

Social comparison processes can affect academic and interpersonal outcomes for minoritized college students. However, the literature has not addressed how these processes play out for Hispanic students who attend Hispanic Majority Institutions, in which Hispanic students comprise more than 50% of the population. In this study, such students ( N = 191) completed online assessments for social comparison orientation (SCO), belongingness, academic self-concept, and perceived stress. Results showed that, regarding belongingness, SCO was positively correlated to rejection/exclusion, but not acceptance/inclusion. Regarding academic self-concept, SCO was positively correlated to self-doubt, but not self-confidence. Mediation analyses showed that perceived stress fully mediated the relationship between SCO and rejection/exclusion, and partially mediated the relationship between SCO and academic self-doubt. In other words, SCO was associated with increased stress, which was then associated with increased feelings of rejection/exclusion and self-doubt about academic abilities. These findings offer additional insight into Hispanic college students’ experience.
Indigenous Experiences and Contributions to Western Scientific Knowledge Systems: An Ethnographic Exploration
Authors: Esquete Garrote Patricia
Published: October 2024

Knowledge systems are embedded in sets of values, worldviews, and cosmologies that affect the whole process of knowledge production. Employing an ethnographic method that integrates participant observation, interviews, and focus groups, I explore the contributions, ideas, points of view, and metaphors that individuals of Indigenous origins introduce to the scientific method when they enter Western scientific knowledge systems. This ethnographic exploration focuses on a group of students with a variety of Indigenous backgrounds participating in a field course on introduction to Ecology. Native-born students contribute innovations to the knowledge production process by shaping research questions, methodologies, and result interpretations. These innovations stem from diverse worldviews and epistemologies, and while they could significantly impact scientific knowledge production, the students may not fully appreciate their own relevance. This work may serve as a testimony of the processes of reflection and negotiation with the scientific methods, practices, and values that native students undergo when participating in a Western scientific context.
Vehicle height control of air suspension based on speed adaptive double-zone model prediction
Authors: Wang Ruochen , Jiang Yehui , Ding Renkai , Chen Yijie , Xu Ke
Published: October 2024

The electronically controlled air suspension (ECAS) system improves the ride comfort and stability of the vehicle by adjusting the vehicle height. Due to the compressibility of air and the inertia of suspension, the ECAS system has the problem of excessive adjustment in the process of vehicle height adjustment, so that the solenoid valve is repeatedly opened and closed. Aiming at this problem, this paper proposes a new vehicle height control method based on speed adaptive double-zone model prediction control (AD-MPC), which realizes the adjustment of vehicle height with less operation of solenoid valve. Firstly, the single-wheeled air suspension is selected as the characteristic model and the spatial state equation is established. Then, the seeker optimization algorithm for the double-zone selection problem is designed to quickly find the best double-zone to obtain a double-zone function that can adapt to the speed. And then, the predictive control method based on AD-MPC is designed. Finally, the effectiveness and feasibility of the method are verified by simulation and experiment.
Multi-objective optimization of switched reluctance motor driving electric vehicles based on vehicle operating condition
Authors: Zhu Yueying , Wei Weiyan , Wang Jiaying , Xing Chao
Published: October 2024

To improve the comprehensive performance of the switched reluctance motor (SRM) for electric vehicles (EVs) under actual driving conditions, a novel geometrical optimization method based on the time-varying phase current characteristics and the comprehensive indicator with justified weight coefficients is proposed in this paper. First, based on the established dynamic models of EV and SRM, the actual operating phase currents of the motor working under the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) are extracted and classified to develop the representative optimization conditions. Then, considering the requirements of EV, five indicators are defined to evaluate the comprehensive performance of SRM, and a new multi-objective synchronization optimization function is proposed with five weight coefficients obtained by the statistical analysis method for the sample data of the indicators. Furthermore, the geometrical optimization for a four-phase 8/6 SRM is carried out by the combination of Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and BP neural network algorithms, after analyzing the effects of key geometrical parameters on the indicators. Finally, the work performance of the optimized SRM is evaluated and compared with that of the initial prototype, and the results show that the optimized SRM with the proposed multi-objective synchronization optimization method can improve the comprehensive indicator by 59.59%, and can significantly enhance the vehicle actual working economy by 50.74% under NEDC cycle.
Evaluation of Antidiabetic Activity of Abutilon crispum on Normal and Streptozotocin-induced Diabetic Albino Wistar Rats
Authors: Manjeera Kuchi , Sundararajan Raja
Published: October 2024

Background

Diabetes mellitus is a disorder that affects the majority of individuals in the world.

Objectives

The objective of the current study is to estimate the antidiabetic effect of methanol extract of Abutilon crispum entire plant, which is broadly cultivated in India’s arid and desert areas. This current investigation aims to estimate the efficacy of methanol extract of A. crispum to prevent streptozotocin-induced diabetes mellitus in Albino Wistar strain rats.

Materials and Methods

In the current examination, methanol extract of the whole plant of A. crispum with doses of 250 and 500 mg/kg/b.wt (body weight) is administered through the oral route to the streptozotocin-prompted diabetic animals where n = 6. We evaluated the differences in food and water intake, body weight levels, fasting glucose, and oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). When methanol extract of A. crispum was used to evaluate the OGTT for diabetic animals, levels of glucose were found to be pointedly lower when administered with 500 mg/kg b.wt as this is compared to the control group. A. crispum had specifically declined the levels of glucose elevated in diabetic rats. A. crispum is a vital alternative source for managing blood glucose levels in diabetes mellitus that have increased during the condition and need to be further reduced by oral medications that cause hypoglycemia. Biochemical parameters were estimated as a part of the investigation.

Results

The results demonstrated that the dried methanol extract of A. crispum (250 mg/kg/bwt and 500 mg/kg/bwt) considerably declined those levels of blood glucose during the treatment period when compared to glibenclamide (10 mg/kg), enhanced the metabolism, improved the health of animals and enhanced the OGTT.

Conclusion

As a result, we can conclude that the whole plant of A. crispum methanol extract contains antidiabetic effects, as well as, hypoglycemic activities.
Individual Resilience among Adult Children of Parents with Bipolar Disorder in Chinese Society: An Inductive and Deductive Content Analysis Approach
Authors: Liu Sara Hsin-Yi , Hsiao Fei-Hsiu , Chen Shing-Chia , Hsieh Ming-Hsien , Shiau Shu-Jen
Published: October 2024

Introduction:

Nurses can help children of parents with mental illness discover their resilience. However, previous studies have focused on their experience in Western settings and have limited understanding of a Chinese cultural context. This study aims to explore individual resilience emerging from adult children’s experience of living with parents with bipolar disorder in Chinese society within the framework of character strengths and possible cultural components.

Methodology:

A content analysis with both inductive and deductive approaches. Twenty adults participated in this study. Interviews were conducted while the participants’ parents were hospitalized in an acute psychiatric hospital ward.

Results:

The framework of character strengths confirmed five emergent themes of individual resilience in this study: courage, temperance, humanity, knowledge and wisdom, and transcendence.

Discussion:

Character strengths are an adequate framework for understanding of individual resilience. Chinese adult children develop resilience by regulating their emotions, respecting their parents, engaging in self-discipline, and positively interpreting adversity.
Initial Safety of Total Talus Replacement Used to Treat Talar Avascular Necrosis
Authors: Abar Bijan , Kim Michael S. , Adams Samuel B. , Adams William R. , Amendola Annunziato , Easley Mark E. , Ellington John Kent , Ford Samuel E. , Hanselman Andrew E. , Highlander Peter , Kwon John Y. , Miller Christopher P. , Nunley James A. , Parker Claire , Parekh Selene G. , Schweitzer Karl M. , Shawen Scott B. , Mann Tara , Kelly Cambre
Published: October 2024

Background:

Total talus replacement (TTR) implants are designed to replace the diseased talar anatomy, reduce pain, maintain ankle range of motion, and restore ankle function after conservative treatments have failed. Currently TTR implants are produced by 3D printing a patient-specific implant designed from the patient’s preoperative anatomy. TTR surgery using patient-specific implants is a relatively new technique that remains understudied in the literature. Therefore, the purpose of this investigation was to determine the early safety and potential benefit of the TTR implant in patients with talar avascular necrosis.

Methods:

This retrospective, multicenter, cohort study evaluates the safety and potential benefits of TTR using 3D-printed patient-specific implants across 4 US centers. The primary outcome was the occurrence of early adverse events after TTR surgery. Secondary outcomes including, pain, and physical function were assessed using the pain visual analog scale (VAS), and Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) physical function (PF), respectively.

Results:

The study team analyzed 15 patients with more than 1 year of follow-up. The mean duration of follow-up was 25.9 months (range: 18.3-41 months). Although 33.3% (5 of 15) of patients experienced adverse events, primarily occurring within the initial 6 months postoperatively, 93% (14 of 15) of patients reported implant survivorship. Of the 5 cases (33.3%) resulting in an adverse event, 3 (60.0%) were determined to be unrelated to the subject device, 2 (40.0%) were determined to be possibly procedure-related, and none (0%) were determined to be device-related.

Conclusion:

Although further studies are needed to compare TTR with the standard of care, the results of this study demonstrate the relative early safety of TTR surgery using a 3D-printed implant for the treatment of challenging talar pathologies. A larger and longer clinical study is required to see if the efficacy of this approach will be statistically and clinically meaningful.
Disney in Black and White: An Analysis of Race Representation Within Disney Animated Films From 1937 to 2021
Authors: Zurcher Jessica D. , Brubaker Pamela Jo , Speed Abbie , Shawcroft Jane , Sheppard J. Andan , Coyne Sarah M. , Christensen-Duerden Chenae , Adams Dallin R.
Published: October 2024

This study examined Disney studios’ portrayals of race as it relates to the physical, mental, and social characteristics of major characters ( N = 319) within Disney animated films released from 1937 to 2021 ( N = 59). Findings revealed most of the characters featured were portrayed as White (68.3%) whereas BIPOC characters made up 31.7% of the total. Results suggest that BIPOC characters were significantly more likely to be featured in supporting character roles, with White characters featured in both the protagonist and antagonist roles. We further observed a limited integration of characters of varying races in a singular film.
Barriers to Delivering Concussion Education: Identifying Opportunities for Change Through the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation, Behavior (COM-B) Model
Authors: Drattell Julia , Kroshus Emily , Register-Mihalik Johna , D’Lauro Christopher , Schmidt Julianne
Published: October 2024

This study aimed to describe barriers athletic trainers (ATs) face to implementing expert recommendations for improving athletes’ concussion care-seeking behavior. We distributed an electronic survey through the National Athletic Trainers’ Association to 9,997 ATs working in secondary schools or collegiate institutions and received 365 complete responses. We quantitatively measured their barriers using a validated survey based on the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation, Behavior (COM-B) behavior system containing six Likert-type items with a scale of 0 to 10 (labeled Strongly Disagree–Strongly Agree). We performed three analyses: (a) descriptive analysis of COM-B responses, (b) separate ordinal regression analyses to determine if gender, years certified, percent of employment hours spent at their school, or setting (e.g., secondary school or college/university) predict COM-B responses, and (c) group comparisons within types of secondary schools and collegiate institutions. Athletic trainers reported the highest barriers in the opportunity-related constructs followed by capability-related and motivation-related constructs. Practicing in a secondary school, rather than college/university, setting predicted stronger barriers in psychological capability, social opportunity, physical opportunity, and automatic motivation. Athletic trainers at National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) affiliated colleges/universities had higher physical and psychological capability, compared to ATs at non-NCAA-affiliated colleges/universities. Athletic trainers feel motivated and capable of employing practices to improve athlete care-seeking after a concussion, but they face barriers. Organizations should support ATs by providing opportunities to deliver concussion education. Secondary schools and non-NCAA institutions may benefit from resources to reduce barriers to providing concussion education, like toolkits to help deliver concussion education and protected time to providing this education.
How Dobbs May Influence the Geographic Distribution of Medical Trainees in the United States
Authors: Traub Ariana M. , Mermin-Bunnell Kellen , Wang Kelly , Aaron Bryan , King Louise P. , Kawwass Jennifer F.
Published: October 2024

Third- and fourth-year U.S. medical students applying to residency were surveyed between August 6 and October 22, 2022, to assess the impact of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (Dobbs) on medical student residency application location choices. Across all medical specialties, most respondents were unlikely or very unlikely to apply to one or more residency programs located in a state with abortion restrictions (57.9%) and were considering changes in state abortion access when choosing the location of residencies to apply to (77.0%). Respondents in states with no abortion restrictions were less likely to apply to a program in a state with abortion restrictions (2 [1, 3] p < .001). The Dobbs decision significantly impacts residency application decisions for medical students in all specialties. Students are choosing to avoid or target states with restrictive abortion legislation based on their personal views.
A lens into the everyday: visual ethnographies and making a multi-storied film in North-eastern Sri Lanka
Authors: Friedman Rebekka
Published: October 2024

Film and visual methods have increasingly become significant focus areas of International Relations (IR) and feminist research. Feminist filmmakers have put particular emphasis on co-production and participatory filmmaking as more symmetrical approaches to research, which can provide visibility for marginalized voices and can challenge dominant perceptions. In this article, I reflect on my experience of making Hidden Voices, an eighty-minute documentary film about everyday experiences of living with disappearances in North-eastern Sri Lanka and the complex ways in which individuals and communities navigate legacies of violence and recovery. I emphasize the ethnographic value of film in bringing out the less visible relational and embodied everyday. As part of this, I discuss film as a type of ‘tour’, which can open opportunities for self-direction from participants and can offer a unique affective medium and way of seeing. While some present film narratives as a ‘microcosm’ of specific local experiences, I used Hidden Voices to explore diverse experiences and at times diverging standpoints. I also highlight the ongoing dialogical and didactic social value of film. While visual methods can be powerful tools for ethnographic research, I also discuss ethical and epistemological tensions inherent in making a research-based film.
Benefits of prophylactic carotid revascularization in patients with asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery: A narrative review
Authors: Jezovnik Mateja Kaja , Poredos Pavel , Poredos Peter
Published: October 2024

Patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) are at increased risk of perioperative stroke. Carotid atherosclerosis has been identified as an independent risk factor for stroke during and in the early postoperative period of cardiac surgery. However, the pathogenesis of peri-CABG stroke is multifactorial and frequently involves other noncarotid causes, such as cardiac emboli and aortic atheroma. Therefore, routine population-wide screening of carotid stenosis is not recommended, but target screening of patients at high risk of carotid-related perioperative stroke can have benefits. Carotid duplex sonography is recommended as an initial screening tool. Elimination of carotid stenosis before cardiac surgery is indicated in patients in whom carotid atherosclerosis is suspected to be the primary contributor to perioperative stroke. In patients with advanced carotid atherosclerosis, an individualized revascularization approach, including simultaneous or staged procedures, is advocated. The prevailing consensus is that synchronous surgery is safer than staged procedures. Carotid artery stenting represents a less invasive alternative, but its role in high-risk patients requires further investigation. In conclusion, the risk of perioperative stroke in patients undergoing CABG involves different factors, and carotid artery stenosis is involved in its pathogenesis only in some patients. Therefore, individualized approaches and careful consideration of patient risk factors are essential in determining the need for carotid screening and revascularization before CABG.
How did slovak students perceive the COVID-19 pandemic: Insights from one of the least vaccinated EU countries
Authors: Korim Veronika , Masaryk Radomír , Lesičková Mária
Published: October 2024

The COVID-19 pandemic brought different challenges to different populations. A less explored group was university students who generally suffered low mortality rates compared to other populations. Yet, they were affected by the psychological impact of lockdowns and limited access to education and socialization. This paper focuses on Slovakia, one of the least vaccinated EU countries. In November 2021 we conducted eight focus groups with 51 university students (45 women; 6 men; M = 23.67; SD = 3.43) and analyzed the data using reflexive thematic analysis. Our results identified the development of prevailing themes associated with COVID-19. Initially, COVID-19 was perceived as unreal but brought certain secondary benefits. We also identified themes of exaggerated disease, conspiracy, resignation, frustration, or adaptation to the disease. We divided the students into three groups based on their COVID-19 vaccine stance: accepting, hesitant, and rejecting. Insights from these groups could guide better communication strategies in the future.
Tribomechanical characterization of ceramic reinforced composite coatings for modification of cylinder liner of heavy-duty diesel engines
Authors: Tat Mustafa Ertunç , Kaya Esad
Published: October 2024

Heavy-duty diesel engines are essential mechanic power generation tools for industry and transporting freight and passengers. Therefore, increasing engine efficiency and minimizing maintenance and repair costs is crucial. This study examines and characterizes three thermal spray coatings (Cr3C2/NiCr, NiCr, and Al2O3/TiO2) utilized on cylindrical gray cast iron substrate specimens. The coatings were tested for their microstructural (optical microstructure, SEM, EDS, XRD, and AFM topography), mechanical (nanoindentation and nano scratch), and tribological (short and long-distance wear test) properties. Microstructural tests showed that an average coating thickness of 120 to 170 µm was successfully achieved on the cast iron base substrate using different thermal coating methods. The Cr3C2/NiCr coating, observed through the AFM mapping method, achieved the most uniform roughness distribution on the surface. The elasticity of the coatings was measured with a nanoindentation test, and Al2O3/TiO2 coating exhibited high rigidness (177 GPa). The nano scratch test showed that the highest load-carrying capacity was achieved with the Cr3C2/NiCr coated sample. NiCr-coated sample exhibited approximately similar rigidness (61 GPa) to cast iron (67 GPa). Short- and long-distance wear tests showed that the coatings provided significantly better wear resistance than the cast iron base. The coatings’ efficacy was evident. At the long-distance tests, while the cast iron base sample had a wear rate of 19.874 (10−7mm3/Nm), the wear rates of Al2O3/TiO2, Cr3C2/NiCr, and NiCr coatings were 3.835, 4.020, and 6.466 (10−7mm3/Nm), respectively. The Al2O3/TiO2 and Cr3C2/NiCr coatings had superior tribological performance than the NiCr coating, yet the NiCr coating showed much higher wear performance than the uncoated base. The Cr3C2/NiCr coating exhibited superior tribomechanical performance in all the coatings.
Revisiting the conceptualisation and implications of medicine’s ‘hidden curriculum’
Authors: Ng Isaac KS , Tan Li Feng , Goh Wilson GW , Thong Christopher , Teo Kevin SH , Teo Desmond B
Published: October 2024

In medical training and practice, our professional attributes, attitudes, perceptions, character traits and identities are fundamentally shaped by our lived experiences and observations in clinical and para-clinical settings instead of being inculcated through formal curriculum or classroom teaching. For instance, clinical acumen, communication skills and bedside manners are learnt through role modelling and experiential learning in the course of clinical rotations. Likewise, one’s attitudes, professional behaviours and inclinations are often also influenced by direct/indirect observations of the actions of others in the medical fraternity in various clinical and non-clinical settings. This is also what is often termed as the ‘hidden curriculum’ of medicine. In this article, we sought to provide a practical conceptualisation of the hidden curriculum in medical training, which we describe as lived experiences and personal observations of medical trainees and residents in clinical and para-clinical spaces, which shape their perceptions of the medical profession (vocational identity and purpose), patients (patient-physician relationship) and colleagues (intra- and inter-professional relationships), with downstream implications on physician well-being and clinical decision-making. Although this idea of a ‘hidden curriculum’ has conventionally carried predominantly negative connotations in medical literature, we suggest that it is an inevitable part of medical education and practice, which, through deliberate regulation, can potentially be shaped to create more positive and meaningful effects in the professional development of medical trainees.
Netflix and the Transnationalisation of Teen Television
Authors: Asmar Axelle , Raats Tim , Van Audenhove Leo
Published: October 2024

With the renewed popularity of teen television, SVOD services such as Netflix are increasingly investing in the production and distribution of teen series. Netflix is one of the first SVOD service to have adapted the genre outside of the western world. This transnationalisation of teen television is, we argue, infused with the streamer increasing emphasis on diversity. Based on a qualitative analysis of Netflix’s teen series trailers, this contribution explores how the streamer (a) challenges existing televisual conventions and (b) establishes its cultural authority through distinct negotiations of the global and the local. We highlight four dimensions of Netflix’s transnationalisation of teen television and conclude that, more than mere diversification of its catalog, Netflix managed to encapsulate different dimensions of diversity within the teen genre as part, on the one hand of its transnational strategy of expansion, and, on the other hand, its cultural politics.
Intensity-Dependent Effects of Low-Frequency Subthreshold rTMS on Primary Motor Cortex Excitability and Interhemispheric Inhibition in Elderly Participants: A Randomized Trial
Authors: Wischnewski Miles , Edwards Lauren , Revill Kate P. , Drake Daniel , Hobbs Gerald , Buetefisch Cathrin M.
Published: October 2024

Background

Low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (LF-rTMS) protocols targeting primary motor cortex (M1) are used in rehabilitation of neurological diseases for their therapeutic potential, safety, and tolerability. Although lower intensity LF-rTMS can modulate M1 neurophysiology, results are variable, and a systematic assessment of its dose effect is lacking.

Objectives

To determine the dose-response of LF-rTMS on stimulated and non-stimulated M1.

Methods

In a sham-controlled randomized double-blind crossover study the effect of LF-TMS protocols were determined in 20 right-handed older healthy participants. In 3 sessions, 1 Hz rTMS at 80% (rTMS80), 90% (rTMS90) of motor threshold or sham stimulation were applied to left upper extremity M1. Outcome measures were curve parameters of the stimulus-response curve (maximum motor evoked potential [MEPMAX], slope and the intensity to evoke 50% MEPMAX), short-interval intracortical inhibition (SICI), and interhemispheric inhibition (IHI).

Results

Within LF-rTMS sessions, rTMS90, increased MEPMAX in the stimulated M1. Furthermore, rTMS90, increased the slope in the non-stimulated M1. LF-rTMS effects on SICI were dependent on the participants’ baseline SICI, hemisphere, and intensity of conditioning pulse. Finally, rTMS90 increased whereas rTMS80 decreased IHI, for both IHI directions. These changes were dependent on baseline IHI and hemisphere and were no longer significant when baseline IHI was accounted for.

Conclusions

Intensity of subthreshold LF-rTMS has differential effects on excitation and inhibition of stimulated and non-stimulated M1. The effects were small and were only demonstrated within the LF-rTMS sessions but were not different when compared to sham. rTMS related changes in SICI and IHI were dependent on baseline level.

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:

NCT02544503, NCT01726218.