bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effect of Ischemia Duration and Protective Interventions on the Temporal Dynamics of Tissue Composition After Myocardial Infarction
Authors: Fernández-Jiménez Rodrigo , Galán-Arriola Carlos , Sánchez-González Javier , Agüero Jaume , López-Martín Gonzalo J. , Gomez-Talavera Sandra , Garcia-Prieto Jaime , Benn Austin , Molina-Iracheta Antonio , Barreiro-Pérez Manuel , Martin-García Ana , García-Lunar Inés , Pizarro Gonzalo , Sanz Javier , Sánchez Pedro L. , Fuster Valentin , Ibanez Borja
Published: June 2017

Rationale:

The impact of cardioprotective strategies and ischemia duration on postischemia/reperfusion (I/R) myocardial tissue composition (edema, myocardium at risk, infarct size, salvage, intramyocardial hemorrhage, and microvascular obstruction) is not well understood.

Objective:

To study the effect of ischemia duration and protective interventions on the temporal dynamics of myocardial tissue composition in a translational animal model of I/R by the use of state-of-the-art imaging technology.

Methods and Results:

Four 5-pig groups underwent different I/R protocols: 40-minute I/R (prolonged ischemia, controls), 20-minute I/R (short-duration ischemia), prolonged ischemia preceded by preconditioning, or prolonged ischemia followed by postconditioning. Serial cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR)-based tissue characterization was done in all pigs at baseline and at 120 minutes, day 1, day 4, and day 7 after I/R. Reference myocardium at risk was assessed by multidetector computed tomography during the index coronary occlusion. After the final CMR, hearts were excised and processed for water content quantification and histology. Five additional healthy pigs were euthanized after baseline CMR as reference. Edema formation followed a bimodal pattern in all 40-minute I/R pigs, regardless of cardioprotective strategy and the degree of intramyocardial hemorrhage or microvascular obstruction. The hyperacute edematous wave was ameliorated only in pigs showing cardioprotection (ie, those undergoing short-duration ischemia or preconditioning). In all groups, CMR-measured edema was barely detectable at 24 hours postreperfusion. The deferred healing-related edematous wave was blunted or absent in pigs undergoing preconditioning or short-duration ischemia, respectively. CMR-measured infarct size declined progressively after reperfusion in all groups. CMR-measured myocardial salvage, and the extent of intramyocardial hemorrhage and microvascular obstruction varied dramatically according to CMR timing, ischemia duration, and cardioprotective strategy.

Conclusions:

Cardioprotective therapies, duration of index ischemia, and the interplay between these greatly influence temporal dynamics and extent of tissue composition changes after I/R. Consequently, imaging techniques and protocols for assessing edema, myocardium at risk, infarct size, salvage, intramyocardial hemorrhage, and microvascular obstruction should be standardized accordingly.
Noninvasive Ventilatory Correction in Patients With Acute Ischemic Stroke
Authors: Tsivgoulis Georgios , Alexandrov Andrei V. , Katsanos Aristeidis H. , Barlinn Kristian , Mikulik Robert , Lambadiari Vaia , Bonakis Anastasios , Alexandrov Anne W.
Published: June 2017

Background and Purpose—

Even though current guidelines suggest that noninvasive ventilatory correction (NIVC) could be considered for acute ischemic stroke patients with obstructive sleep apnea, available evidence is conflicting, with no adequately powered randomized clinical trial being available to date.

Methods—

We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of all available literature data evaluating the effect of NIVC on neurological improvement (based on decrease in National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score), vascular events (recurrent stroke, transient ischemic attack, myocardial infarction and unstable angina), and mortality during the follow-up period.

Results—

We identified 4 randomized clinical trials and 1 prospectively matched observational cohort, comprising a total of 389 patients (59.8% males, mean age: 64.4 years). The risk of both performance and detection bias was considered high in most of the included randomized clinical trials because of the lack of blinding in participants, personnel and/or outcome assessors. The mean decrease in National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale scores during the first (≤30) days of acute ischemic stroke was found to be greater in NIVC-treated patients in comparison to controls (standardized mean difference, 0.38; 95% confidence interval, 0.11–0.66;
P
=0.007). However, no significant differences were detected between NIVC-treated acute ischemic stroke patients and controls on both the risk of vascular events (risk ratio, 0.53; 95% confidence interval, 0.25–1.14;
P
=0.11) and mortality (risk ratio, 0.71; 95% confidence interval, 0.37–1.36;
P
=0.30). No evidence of heterogeneity (
I
2
=0%;
P
for Cochran Q>0.50) or publication bias were detected in all analyses.

Conclusions—

NIVC seems to be associated with greater short-term neurological improvement in acute ischemic stroke patients with obstructive sleep apnea. This finding deserves further investigation within the settings of an adequately powered, sham-control, randomized clinical trial.
The Agreement Measure γcat a Complement to γ Focused on Categorization of a Continuum
Authors: Mathet Yann
Published: June 2017

Agreement on unitizing, where several annotators freely put units of various sizes and categories on a continuum, is difficult to assess because of the simultaneaous discrepancies in positioning and categorizing. The recent agreement measure γ offers an overall solution that simultaneously takes into account positions and categories. In this article, I propose the additional coefficient γ cat, which complements γ by assessing the agreement on categorization of a continuum, putting aside positional discrepancies. When applied to pure categorization (with predefined units), γ cat behaves the same way as the famous dedicated Krippendorff's α, even with missing values, which proves its consistency. A variation of γ cat is also proposed that provides an in-depth assessment of categorizing for each individual category. The entire family of γ coefficients is implemented in free software.
South China Sea
Authors: Zhong Hui , White Michael
Published: June 2017

The South China Sea is a maritime space where States have overlapping claims and unsettled maritime boundaries. While driven by territorial competition for ownership of some of the islands, the core contradictions are more related to freedom of navigation. This sea is one of the world’s most important shipping, trade and energy routes, a rich potential source of sub-sea oil and gas and a major fisheries area. The Republic of the Philippines v The People’s Republic of China Arbitral Tribunal Decision of 12 July 2016
1
(the arbitral ruling) under the United Nations Convention for the Law of the Sea 1982 heightened the tensions in the area but they had previously been long standing and it merely escalated the concern that the tensions would impede or even halt regional and global commerce. This article focuses on the importance of the South China Sea and argues that if the South China Sea issue is not handled properly, it would be damaging to the exporting and the importing countries in this region in particular and worldwide trade in general. There has already been a negative impact on economic cooperation and the long term development in Southeast Asia and further tensions could be highly damaging for all of the countries concerned.
Artificial Islands, Artificial Highways and Pirates
Authors: Bikundo Edwin
Published: June 2017

The United States promotes freedom of navigation in the South China Sea while China constructs artificial islands in the same area to bolster up its territorial claims. Both countries utilize their navies similarly but for opposed legal reasons. This reflects a geopolitical contest with the United States championing a sea open to global navigation and commerce while China builds a primarily land based ‘New Silk Road’ linking it to critical markets and natural resources. That struggle between land and sea, similarly as it were with piracy, encompasses both the law of the sea and international criminal law. Reading Carl Schmitt’s Land and Sea in light of Johann Wolfgang Goethe’s Faust in the context of the various South China Sea disputes provides the opportunity to evaluate whether it may clarify geo-strategic issues at stake that Schmitt himself did not have the opportunity to consider when elaborating his notion of Nomos.
The Apseudomorpha (Crustacea: Tanaidacea) of the Gulf of Cadiz and Horseshoe Continental Rise (NE Atlantic): A taxonomic review with new records, species, and ecological data
Authors: ESQUETE P. , CUNHA M.R.
Published: June 2017

The apseudomorphan tanaidaceans of the deep sea have been under-studied, especially in chemosynthetic habitats. A total of ten species present in the Gulf of Cadiz and the Horseshoe Continental Rise (SW off the Iberian Peninsula) are listed here, and new distribution data, ecological remarks and description of one new species of Atlantapseudes (Atlantapseudes curvatus sp. nov.) from recent research cruises are added. Pseudosphyrapus azorensis and Francapseudes uniarticulatus are recorded for the first time since the original descriptions. Notes on morphological development of Leviapseudes segonzaci and intraspecific variation of F. uniarticulatus are included, together with illustrations and descriptions of the material from the Gulf of Cadiz to complement previous descriptions.
A new genus and species of Neotropical Nemobiinae (Insecta: Orthoptera:
Grylloidea: Trigonidiidae: Nemobiinae)
Authors: JESUS FABIENE MARIA DE , PEREIRA MARCELO RIBEIRO , RODRIGUES GEANNE CARLA RIPANI , SPERBER CARLOS FRANKL
Published: June 2017

A new genus and a new species of Neotropical cricket is described: Pepoapua cariacica n. gen., n. sp., occurring in four Atlantic Forest remnants in the states of Bahia and Espírito Santo, Brazil. This new genus is morphologically similar in external characteristics, both male and female genitalia, with two other Neotropical genera of Nemobiinae: Amanayara and Kevanemobius. The combination of the external morphological characteristics, along with male genitalia, characterize a new genus through combination of the following characters: (i) males and females with morphologically similar tegmina; (ii) tegmina reduced, not reaching half of the second abdominal segment; (iii) dorsal field of the tegmina with parallel veins, without stridulatory vein or any specialized area for sound production; (iv) tibia of the first pair of legs without tympanum; (v) tibia of the third pair of legs with seven dorsal spurs, four inner and three outer, the proximo-dorsal inner spur reduced in size and the disto-dorsal inner spur without glandular aspect; (vi) ovipositor with distal portion of the dorsal and ventral valves serrated; (vii) male genitalia without evident bristles or sensillas; (viii) pseudepiphallic median lobe presenting apical and ventral projections.
A new species of Neoeutrypanus Monné, 1977 from Guatemala (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae)
Authors: MONNÉ MIGUEL A. , BOTERO JUAN PABLO
Published: June 2017

Neoeutrypanus Monné, 1977 was reviewed by Botero & Monné (2015); currently, the genus is composed by 12 species, distributed from Mexico to the north of Argentina (Monné, 2017). Herein, we describe a new species from Guatemala and a modify the key proposed by Botero & Monné (2015) to include the new species.
Corrections and clarifications to the descriptions of Biendongella and Sovvityazius (Perciformes: Gobiidae)
Authors: MURDY EDWARD O.
Published: June 2017

Prokofiev (2015a) described two new genera and species of Amblyopinae and reported new amblyopine records from waters off Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. In reviewing Prokofiev’s figures and reading the descriptions of his new genera, Biendongella Prokofiev, 2015 and Sovvityazius Prokofiev, 2015, it appeared likely that these new taxa were based on species also under examination by Koichi Shibukawa and me. However, some differences existed between our specimens and those described by Prokofiev in the pterygiophore formula (DF), the presence/absence of hypural 5, and the number of epurals. The data and information on these characters were not abundantly clear from the text and clarification was needed. For example, on page 786 of Prokofiev (2015a) the following diagnostic feature of Biendongella was provided, “DF 3 1221, vacant interneural gap between spined and soft parts of D present; two first pterygiophores of soft part of D each located in its interneural gap…”. Similar wording exists for Sovvityazius on page 789, “DF 3 1221, vacant gap between spined and soft parts of D present; two first pterygiophores of soft part of D each in its interneural space…”. As for hypural 5 and the number of epurals, the same statement is given for both Biendongella and Sovvityazius on pages 786 and 789, respectively, “Hypural 5 and epural 2 absent.” These character states struck me as remarkable as they are atypical for amblyopines. With respect to the DF character above, amblyopine gobies with a pterygiophore formula of 3-1221 have no interneural gap and the interneural space immediately posterior to the pterygiophore of the ultimate spinous ray contains two pterygiophores (Murdy 2011). As for the latter characters, hypural 5 and two epurals are present in amblyopine gobies (Shibukawa and Murdy 2012). In a detailed email to Prokofiev, I asked for clarification of these discrepancies and whether Biendongella and Sovvityazius have the amblyopine synapomorphy of the ultimate pterygiophore supporting a single ray (Murdy & Shibukawa 2001), which was not mentioned in the description of either genus.
What Motivates Citizens to Volunteer in Schools? Determinants in the Local Context
Authors: Wu Wei-Ning , Tsai Chin-Chang
Published: June 2017

Volunteers play a vital role in helping local schools accomplish their goals and missions. Yet, little is known about the determinants of volunteering in local schools. This study expects that community factors, citizens’ concerns, and personal characteristics are possible determinants of general and school volunteering. Utilizing a 2007 survey from a local county, this study finds that citizens receiving public assistance or having higher satisfaction with their local community are more likely to volunteer in any type of organizations. Moreover, having children under the age of 18, concerns about the availability of affordable child care, and working in the education sector are positively related to school volunteering. Implications for research and practice are addressed.
Working together in a good way: Relationships between local Indigenous and fly-in workers delivering a parent–child programme in remote Aboriginal communities
Authors: Stock Carolin , Mares Sarah , Robinson Gary
Published: June 2017

This article considers what successful working relationships between fly-in professionals and Aboriginal community workers involve. Interviews with six Aboriginal workers and the experience of the jointly delivered Let’s Start parent–child programme in remote north Australian Indigenous communities confirm the importance of developing positive relationships within a both-ways learning approach, drawing on each other’s strengths, and the significance of reflection on practice. Working cooperatively enables effective programme implementation, supports incorporation of new learning into practice, and benefits local Aboriginal community members through employment and development opportunities. This model has relevance for health and community programmes delivered in remote Aboriginal communities.
Open Strategy-Making at the Wikimedia Foundation: A Dialogic Perspective
Authors: Heracleous Loizos , Gößwein Julia , Beaudette Philippe
Published: June 2017

Dialogue is essential to open strategy processes, yet these processes have not been researched from a dialogic perspective. We therefore ask the question: What is the role of dialogue in open strategy processes? Our study of the development of Wikimedia’s 5-year strategy plan through an open strategy process reveals the endemic nature of tensions occasioned by the intersection of dialogue as an emergent, nonhierarchical practice, and strategy, as a practice that requires direction, focus, and alignment. Furthermore, our study suggests that context matters to both dialogic and open strategy processes and challenges universalist features of dialogue. Specifically, dialogic organization development and large group interventions perspectives can offer useful lenses to incorporate contextual features. Finally, our implications for practice suggest that particular organizing principles of open strategy processes can foster a healthy dialogic process in terms of enabling ongoing, diverse, and substantive interactions and inputs by stakeholders.
Economic Development and South Korea’s UN PKO Participation
Authors: Ye Min , Heo Uk , Li Quan
Published: June 2017

In this paper, we develop a theory on how economic development in South Korea has reshaped its foreign policy and examine the rising middle power’s personnel contributions to the United Nations (UN) peacekeeping operations (PKOs) using a supply-side rational choice model. Not only do the results reaffirm economic development as the fundamental driving force of South Korea’s growing contributions to UN PKOs, a handful of factors that influence South Korea’s decision on UN PKO participation were also discovered. This study highlights an important approach to bridge our knowledge of the global peacekeeping endeavors and individual countries’ self-interested calculation.
STAT3 Induces Immunosuppression by Upregulating PD-1/PD-L1 in HNSCC
Authors: Bu L.L. , Yu G.T. , Wu L. , Mao L. , Deng W.W. , Liu J.F. , Kulkarni A.B. , Zhang W.F. , Zhang L. , Sun Z.J.
Published: June 2017

Head and neck cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers around the world. Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) accounts for nearly 90% of head and neck cancer. In recent years, significant advances have been made in immunotherapy for HNSCC. Although some clinical trials targeting immune checkpoints have shown success, the molecular mechanism for regulation of programmed death 1 (PD-1) and its ligand (PD-L1) is partially understood. In an effort to explore the effect of activation of signal transducers and activators of transcriptions (STAT3) on PD-1/PD-L1, the expression and correlation between phosphorylation of STAT3 and PD-1/PD-L1 were determined with immunostaining of human and mouse HNSCC tissue sections. PD-1/PD-L1 overexpression was found to be significantly associated with p-STAT3 in human and mouse HNSCC. Targeting STAT3 by a small molecule effectively inhibited the expression of PD-L1 in the CAL27 cell line. Furthermore, we found that blockade of STAT3 signaling downregulated PD-1/PD-L1 in a Tgfbr1/Pten 2cKO HNSCC mouse model. These findings suggest that STAT3 signaling plays an important role in PD-1/PD-L1 regulation and the antitumor immune response of HNSCC.
Sedative and cardiorespiratory effects of detomidine constant rate infusion in sheep
Authors: de Moura Rauane Sousa , Bittar Isabela Plazza , da Silva Luiz Henrique , Villela Ana Carolina Vasquez , dos Santos Júnior Marcelo Borges , Borges Naida Cristina , Franco Leandro Guimarães
Published: June 2017

The use of sheep in experiments is widespread and is increasing worldwide, and so is the need to develop species-specific anaesthetic techniques to ensure animal safety. Previous studies have mentioned several protocols involving the administration of alpha-2 adrenergic agonists in sheep; however, assessment of the efficacy and safety of these infusion techniques is still relatively new. Thus, the aim of the present study is to assess the effectiveness of detomidine constant rate infusion (CRI) in sheep by measuring the cardiovascular and respiratory parameters, blood gas variables and sedation scores. Eight adult female Santa Inês sheep received 20 µg/kg of detomidine hydrochloride intravenously as a bolus loading dose, followed by an infusion rate of 60 µg/kg/h. The heart rates and respiratory rates changed continuously during the CRI period. No arrhythmias were observed. The reduction in arterial partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2) was not significant, but one animal showed signs of hypoxaemia (minimum PaO2 of 66.9 mmHg). The arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaCO2) increased, but the animals did not become hypercapnic. The bicarbonate (HCO3−), pH and base excess (BE) tended towards metabolic alkalosis. The cardiac output (CO), stroke volume (SV), cardiac index (CI) and ejection fraction (EF%) showed no significant changes. The fractional shortening (FS%) decreased slightly, starting at T45min. Sedation scores varied between 3 (0/10) after sedation and during recovery and 7 (0/10) during CRI. We concluded that administering detomidine at an infusion rate of 60 µg/kg/h in Santa Inês sheep is a simple technique that produces satisfactory sedation for minimally invasive procedures.
Sex Offenders and Cyproterone Acetate—A Review of Clinical Care
Authors: Torpy David , Tomison Arden
Published: June 2017

The literature on the use of cyproterone acetate in the treatment of sex offenders is examined. Seven patients who had received this treatment in the past five years are reviewed in the light of these publications.
Facilitating practice-led co-innovation for the improvement in animal welfare
Authors: van Dijk Lisa , Buller Henry , MacAllister Louise , Main David
Published: June 2017

Using the egg-laying-hen sector as a case study, the European Union-funded ‘Hennovation’ thematic network has been testing mechanisms to enable practice-led innovation through the establishment of 19 innovation networks of farmers and within the laying-hen processing industry, supported by existing science and market-driven actors. These networks were facilitated to proactively search for, share and use new ideas to improve hen welfare, efficiency and sustainability. This article provides insights into the tools used, including a framework for the facilitation of practice-led collaborative innovation processes. This framework was developed through participatory action research to monitor network performance and self-reflection by facilitators. Practice-led innovation processes are network specific and evolve as the actors within the network come together to share common problems, experiment with possible solutions and learn. The participatory and iterative nature of this process leads to uncertainty in process and end results. This raises methodological challenges in the management of such processes and requires a flexible and adaptive management approach focusing on learning and reflection.
Evaluating a space for co-innovation: Practical application of nine principles for co-innovation in five innovation projects
Authors: Coutts Jeff , White Toni , Blackett Paula , Rijswijk Kelly , Bewsell Denise , Park Nicola , Turner James A , Botha Neels
Published: June 2017

Primary Innovation is a 5-year collaborative initiative demonstrating and evaluating co-innovation, a systemic approach to innovation addressing complex problems, in five “innovation projects” (active case studies) in different agricultural industries. In defining the elements of co-innovation, Primary Innovation has emphasized nine principles that guide activity in the innovation projects. To understand how useful these principles were in guiding practice, and their influence on co-innovation, project participants assessed and reflected on how the principles were applied in practice, issues that arose, how each influenced the project, and how important each principle was perceived as being in influencing project outcomes. The nine principles should be understood in each individual project’s context because their appropriateness and usefulness were affected by the type of problem being addressed and the stage of the project. It was also evident that they need to be built into the process from the outset.
Just-in-case to justified irrigation: Applying co-innovation principles to irrigation water management
Authors: Srinivasan MS , Bewsell D , Jongmans C , Elley G
Published: June 2017

A pilot study, using a co-innovation approach in identify opportunities to improve irrigation management, is underway in five farms in an irrigation scheme in New Zealand. Through a process of co-learning, a group of on-farm and off-farm stakeholders defined the problem of on-farm water use efficiency and co-developed solutions to enhance farmers’ ability, desire and capacity to adopt improved irrigation practices. To enable informed decision-making, participants were supplied with current soil water demand (measured on farm) and 2- to 15-day rainfall forecasts as a daily email update. We conducted several one-on-one formal/informal meetings and annual workshops with stakeholders to evaluate the farmers’ ability in integrating the updates into their current irrigation practices. Selected key findings were (i) on-farm irrigation decisions are influenced by on-farm and off-farm hydrological, climatic, infrastructural and regulatory factors, thus we need to develop a wider view to irrigation management, (ii) for successful uptake, it is important to understand the external stimuli that directly and indirectly conflict or align with proposed practice changes, (iii) introduction of stakeholders with conflicting perspectives needs to be carefully managed, (iv) with co-learning, project objectives continuously evolve in response to ongoing monitoring, review and reflection on the processes, thus it is important to build flexibility into the implementation pathway and (v) when scaling out from five farms to the wider irrigation scheme, opportunities such as collective learning and reflection at end-user focused workshops may become more challenging owing to stakeholder numbers, thus other co-learning opportunities need to be identified.
Triggering system innovation in agricultural innovation systems: Initial insights from a community for change in New Zealand
Authors: Turner James A , Williams Tracy , Nicholas Graeme , Foote Jeff , Rijswijk Kelly , Barnard Tim , Beechener Sam , Horita Akiko
Published: June 2017

This article describes a process for stimulating engagement among change agents to develop a shared understanding of systemic problems in the agricultural innovation system (AIS), challenge prevalent institutional logics and identify actions they might undertake to stimulate system innovation. The process included (i) multiple actors from the AIS, (ii) reflexivity regarding underlying institutional logics, (iii) an iterative process of practical experimentation to challenge current practices and (iv) actions to encourage generative collaboration. Problem structuring supported change agents’ development of a shared understanding of systemic problems and the role that interrelationships, perspectives and boundaries play in reinforcing or destabilizing current practices and institutional logics. Involving multiple actors from the AIS in challenging underlying institutional logics and encouraging collaboration appeared to stimulate project-level actions and recognition of wider AIS barriers. Collective system analyses for addressing structural changes, including the potential for system innovation, were beneficial. Simultaneously resolving innovation project actions with AIS actions remains a challenge.
Addressing complex challenges using a co-innovation approach: Lessons from five case studies in the New Zealand primary sector
Authors: Vereijssen Jessica , Srinivasan MS , Dirks Sarah , Fielke Simon , Jongmans Catharina , Agnew Natasha , Klerkx Laurens , Pinxterhuis Ina , Moore John , Edwards Paul , Brazendale Rob , Botha Neels , Turner James A
Published: June 2017

Co-innovation can be effective for complex challenges – involving interactions amongst multiple stakeholders, viewpoints, perceptions, practices and interests across programmes, sectors and national systems. Approaches to challenges in the primary sector have tended to be linear, where tools and outputs are developed by a few, mostly scientists/researchers, and then extended to stakeholders. A co-innovation approach first deciphers and delineates the biophysical, societal, regulatory, policy, economic and environmental drivers, constraints and controls influencing these challenges at multiple levels. Second, stakeholder interactions and perspectives can inform and change the focus as well as help in co-developing solutions to deliver agreed outcomes. However, there is limited systematic and comparative research on how co-innovation works out in different projects. Here we analyse the results of applying a co-innovation approach to five research projects in the New Zealand primary sector. The projects varied in depth and breadth of stakeholder engagement, availability of ready-made solutions and prevalence of interests and conflicts. The projects show how and why co-innovation approaches in some cases contributed to a shared understanding of complex problems. Our results confirm the context specificity of co-innovation practices.
Vocational Rehabilitation Outcomes for Students Participating in a Model Transition Program
Authors: Luecking Richard G. , Fabian Ellen. S. , Contreary Kara , Honeycutt Todd C. , Luecking Debra Martin
Published: June 2017

The authors examined vocational rehabilitation service and outcome differences between youth with disabilities who participated in a model transition intervention and youth with disabilities who did not. The transition model featured research-supported components integrated into a single service model and implemented across 11 Maryland school districts from 2007 to 2013. Using administrative data extracted from the Maryland Division of Rehabilitation Services, several major findings emerged. Model participants experienced a shorter time from eligibility to development of the Individual Plan for Employment, but longer open cases; received more job-related services and less assessment and diagnostic services; cost less to serve; achieved significantly higher employment rates at case closure; and worked slightly fewer hours and earned less per week at closure. These results signify implications for vocational rehabilitation practice with students and youth with disabilities, especially in the context of transition service requirements of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.
Environmental Impact Communication: Cape Wind EIS, 2001–2015
Authors: Ross Donald
Published: June 2017

“Cape Wind” is a proposed wind-energy project off the Massachusetts coast. Its environmental effects are detailed in an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Writers of an EIS must address rhetorical challenges posed by the complexity of how the “environment” is characterized by many statutes and regulations. These requirements include guidance on the document’s style, and because the text is hundreds of pages long, they also include rules on its arrangement (its genre), and its online delivery. Partly as a result, the writer’s stance is that of an impersonal, corporate author. The EIS is required to address multiple audiences that include decision makers and elected officials; public participation in the process is encouraged. Evidence about the actual audience shows that the public finds out about the project through media reports, web sites, and press releases, rather than studying the EIS. Finally, sustained opposition by a fossil-fuel lobbying group has led to the project’s apparent demise.
Using Critical Thinking Drills to Teach and Assess Proficiency in Methodological and Statistical Thinking
Authors: Cascio Ted V.
Published: June 2017

This study assesses the effectiveness of critical thinking drills (CTDs), a repetitious classroom activity designed to improve methodological and statistical thinking in relation to psychological claims embedded in popular press articles. In each of four separate CTDs, students critically analyzed a brief article reporting a recent psychological study by answering a set of 10 critical thinking questions in relation to it. Student responses were subsequently self-scored through an instructor-led discussion session. Results showed that the average CTD score increased linearly between the first and final assessment. These results suggest that critical thinking in relation to scientific claims found in secondary source material can be successfully taught and quantitatively assessed.
The Teaching of Undergraduate Health Psychology
Authors: Panjwani Aliza A. , Gurung Regan A. R. , Revenson Tracey A.
Published: June 2017

We conducted an online national survey to examine how undergraduate health psychology is taught, offer information about course design and content, and provide a needs analysis. Health psychology instructors ( N = 126) answered questions about course format, teaching tools, importance of covering specific topics, and needed resources. A principal components analysis of topic importance ratings revealed five domains: chronic illness, stress and adjustment processes, health psychology in practice, health behavior change, and basics and background. Participants noted that health disparities were not sufficiently addressed in textbooks. A need for integrating digital media and class activities as teaching tools was apparent. Although the number of health psychology courses has increased, there is some inconsistency in how the subject is taught and a clear need for teaching resources.
Differential Relationships Between Diabetes Knowledge Scales and Diabetes Outcomes
Authors: Dawson Aprill Z. , Walker Rebekah J. , Egede Leonard E.
Published: June 2017

Background

Diabetes affects more than 29 million people in the US and requires daily self-management in addition to knowledge of the disease. Three knowledge assessments used are the Michigan Brief Diabetes Knowledge Test (DKT), Starr County Diabetes Knowledge Questionnaire (DKQ), and Kaiser DISTANCE Survey (DISTANCE).

Purpose

The purpose of the study was to test the discriminate validity of 3 diabetes knowledge scales and determine which is best associated with diabetes self-care and glycemic control.

Methods

Three hundred sixty-one adults with type 2 diabetes were recruited from primary care clinics. Four analyses were conducted to investigate the validity and relationships of the scale: alpha statistic to test internal validity, factor analysis to determine how much of the variance was explained, Pearson’s correlation between the 3 scales, and Pearson’s correlation between each scale, self-care, and outcomes.

Results

The DKQ had an alpha of 0.75, the DKT had an alpha of 0.49, and DISTANCE had an alpha of 0.36. The DKQ was significantly correlated with glycemic control. The DKT scale was significantly associated with general diet, the DISTANCE survey was significantly associated with exercise, and both DKT and DISTANCE were significantly associated with foot care.

Conclusion

Correlations among the 3 scales were modest, suggesting the scales are not measuring the same underlying construct. These findings indicate that researchers should carefully select scales appropriate for study goals or to appropriately capture the information being sought to inform practice.
The Association Between Hospital Characteristics and Nonresponse in an Organization Survey: An Analysis of the National Healthcare Establishment and Workforce Survey in Malaysia
Authors: Foo Chee Yoong , Reidpath Daniel D. , Sivasampu Sheamini
Published: June 2017

In any survey where some of the invited participants fail to respond estimates may be biased. The literature on survey nonresponse is substantial, and the intellectual focus has typically been on the nonresponse of individuals. An important yet less scrutinized area in the analysis of nonresponse is in organizational surveys, particularly surveys of health-care organizations. This study used data from the 2010 National Healthcare Establishment and Workforce Survey in Malaysia to examine the relationship between a set of measurable hospital attributes and their probability of survey response and the relationship between this probability and the differences in survey estimates. We found that readily measurable hospital characteristics such as size and geographical location are useful predictors of survey response likelihood. Larger hospitals and hospitals located in less developed geographical regions responded more favorably than their counterparts. We have also illustrated that the resulting response pattern affected some key survey estimates. These findings have the potential to extend our understanding of nonresponse to organization surveys in the health-care sector, potentially allow for the prediction of nonresponse, and help researchers to identify profiles of “reluctant responders” before a survey commences, so that additional engagement strategies may be used.
Multi-faceted discipline strategies of Chinese parenting
Authors: Fung Heidi , Li Jin , Lam Chi Kwan
Published: June 2017

Parental disciplining of their misbehaving children continues to draw much research attention. Baumrind’s typology of parenting styles has been frequently used to classify Chinese parenting as more authoritarian. Although influential, research tends predominantly to focus on abstract characterization. Yet, parenting is a practice informed by specific cultural ethnotheories and enacted in response to their children’s behavior in specific contexts. Our study attempted to explore this type of disciplining in situ. We interviewed 89 mothers from Taiwan (45) and Hong Kong (44) with children from near the end of infancy to beginning-school age. Mothers were asked to share their disciplinary strategies for handling four hypothetical yet common situations in which children misbehaved. These situations varied in setting, social distance among participants, possible consequences, nature of rules involved, and degree of conflict. We found five strategy types. Moreover, mothers prioritized them differently for different situations. Finally, we identified four ways of using strategies: single, contingent, simultaneous, or ratcheting-up. Depending on their strategies in a given situation, these uses also varied. We were compelled to conclude that Chinese parenting is more multi-faceted than has been typically portrayed in research. Implications for future research on parenting across cultures are discussed.
Developmental trend towards exact imitation in the second year of life
Authors: Óturai Gabriella , Kolling Thorsten , Knopf Monika
Published: June 2017

Findings from previous cross-sectional studies showed that while toddlers around their first birthday imitate selectively, that is, they systematically omit some kinds of target action steps or they copy only the goal, but not the means of the modeled actions, older toddlers imitate more exactly. The aim of the present article is to provide longitudinal evidence for this developmental trend and to investigate how imitation of different kinds of target action steps contributes to inter-individual differences in overall imitation performance. The present analysis of longitudinal deferred imitation data contrasted toddlers’ imitation of functional and relevant (FURE) versus arbitrary and irrelevant (ARIR) target action steps at the ages of 18 and 24 months. The results show that the difference between the imitation rates of these two kinds of target action steps decreased with age, supporting the developmental trend from selective towards more exact imitation. In addition, findings of the present analyses point to the prominent role of toddlers’ imitation of arbitrary and irrelevant target action steps in shaping inter-individual variability of overall deferred imitation performance.
Constructing Women’s Leadership Representation in the UK Press During a Time of Financial Crisis: Gender capitals and dialectical tensions
Authors: Elliott Carole , Stead Valerie
Published: June 2017

A continuing challenge for organizations is the persistent underrepresentation of women in senior roles, which gained a particular prominence during the global financial crisis (GFC). The GFC has raised questions regarding the forms of leadership that allowed the crisis to happen and alternative proposals regarding how future crises might be avoided. Within this context women’s leadership has been positioned as an ethical alternative to styles of masculinist leadership that led to the crisis in the first place. Through a multimodal discursive analysis this article examines the socio-cultural assumptions sustaining the gendering of leadership in the popular press to critically analyse how women’s leadership is represented during the GFC of 2008–2012. Highlighting the media’s portrayal of women’s leadership as a gendered field of activity where different forms of gender capital come into play, we identify three sets of dialectics: women as leaders and women as feminine, women as credible leaders and women as lacking in credibility, and women as victims and women as their own worst enemies. Together, the dialectics work together to form a discursive pattern framed by a male leadership model that narrates the promise of women leaders, yet the disappointment that they are not men. Our study extends understandings regarding how female and feminine forms of gender capital operate dialectically, where the media employs feminine capital to promote women’s positioning as leaders yet also leverages female capital as a constraint. We propose that this understanding can be of value to organizations to understand the impact and influence of discourse on efforts to promote women into leadership roles.
Ethnicity and religiosity-based prejudice in Turkey: Evidence from a survey experiment
Authors: Aytaç S. Erdem , Çarkoğlu Ali
Published: June 2017

Threat perceptions and prejudice underlie a large number of intergroup conflicts. In this article we explore prejudicial attitudes in Turkey regarding ethnic Kurdish and devout Muslim religious identities as opposed to Turkish and less observant, secular identities. Utilizing a population-based survey experiment, we use vignettes about a hypothetical family as a neighbour, with randomized ethnicity and religiosity-related cues. We find evidence for prejudice against Kurdish ethnicity, especially among older, lowly-educated and economically dissatisfied individuals. The level of prejudice against Kurds does not seem to be related to the relative size of the Kurdish population in the local population. We do not observe prejudice against devout Muslim or less observant, secular identities. Our findings indicate that prejudice against Kurds in Turkey does not have a sui generis nature. The lack of prejudice across the religiosity dimension suggests that major socio-political cleavages do not necessarily affect intergroup attitudes.
Loneliness in the older adult marriage
Authors: Hsieh Ning , Hawkley Louise
Published: June 2017

Marriage protects against loneliness, but not all marriages are equally protective. While marriage is a highly interdependent relationship, loneliness in marital dyads has received very little research attention. Unlike most studies proposing that positive and negative marital qualities independently affect loneliness at the individual level, we used a contextual approach to characterize each partner’s ratings of the marriage as supportive (high support, low strain), ambivalent (high support, high strain), indifferent (low support, low strain), or aversive (low support, high strain) and examined how these qualities associate with own and partner’s loneliness. Using couple data from the Wave II National Social Life, Health and Aging Project ( N = 953 couples), we found that more than half of the older adults live in an ambivalent, indifferent, or aversive marriage. Actor–partner interdependence models showed that positive and negative marital qualities synergistically predict couple loneliness. Spouses in aversive marriages are lonelier than their supportively married counterparts (actor effect), and that marital aversion increases the loneliness of their partners (partner effect). In addition, wives (but not husbands) in indifferent marriages are lonelier than their supportively married counterparts. These effects of poor marital quality on loneliness were not ameliorated by good relationships with friends and relatives. Results highlight the prominent role of the marriage relationship for imbuing a sense of connectedness among older adults and underscore the need for additional research to identify strategies to help older adults optimize their marital relationship.
Fake news and manipulated data, the new GDPR, and the future of information
Authors: Cohen Manny
Published: June 2017

Manny Cohen, a veteran of 40 years in research and information and one of the founders of the tech industry area around Shoreditch and Old Street, now known as silicon roundabout in London; gives an interesting insight into the current and future structures and changes in the information industry. He then discusses and describes the ramifications of a major topic of today, that is the issues around Fake News. What happens when the truth can be changed? Also discussed are the industry requirements around the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulations) and how Artificial intelligence is needed to guide the industries’ future and the search for the truth.
A multi-professional educational intervention to improve and sustain respondents’ confidence to deliver palliative care: A mixed-methods study
Authors: Reed Elizabeth , Todd Jennifer , Lawton Sally , Grant Robert , Sadler Clair , Berg Jane , Lucas Caroline , Watson Max
Published: June 2017

Background:

Education has been highlighted as fundamental in equipping healthcare professionals with essential knowledge and skills to provide good end-of-life care. Multiprofessional educational programmes have a positive influence on knowledge, attitude and confidence but few have sought to understand the longer term impact on care delivery. The European Certificate in Essential Palliative Care is an 8-week home-study-based programme for healthcare professionals and is currently run in nine centres. Successful candidates have undertaken the course from their own countries around the world. This article describes the evaluation of the European Certificate in Essential Palliative Care which has been evolving over 15 years.

Aims:

To evaluate the impact an educational intervention has on participants’ confidence in palliative care, to determine whether this is sustained over time and explore participants’ perception of the influence of the course on confidence.

Design:

A mixed-method longitudinal approach.

Setting/participants:

A survey using a self-efficacy scale was emailed to 342 candidates who received an educational intervention and semi-structured interviews to a sub-sample of 15 candidates at baseline, 3 and 6 months.

Results:

At 3 months, candidates had almost 20 times higher odds of being above any given level of confidence than at baseline which was sustained at 6 months. Qualitative analysis identified examples of increased competence and confidence improving palliative care delivery.

Conclusion:

Findings suggest that the European Certificate in Essential Palliative Care improves confidence in palliative care and that this is sustained over time with evidence of confidence in symptom control, communication and a holistic approach in clinical practice.