bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Formulating and elaborating a model for the measurement of intellectual capital in Spanish public universities
Authors: Ramírez Yolanda , Manzaneque Montserrat , Priego Alba María
Published: July 2015

Intellectual capital approaches become critical at universities mainly due to the fact that knowledge is the main output as well as input in these institutions. Although some attempts to measure intellectual capital have been made so far, there is still a long way to go. The purpose of the present article is to provide a model for the measurement of intellectual capital in higher education institutions. The results of a study done at Spanish public universities are used to indicate which intangible elements need to be measured, and a new framework for the measurement and management of intellectual capital is presented.

Points for practitioners

The main contribution of this article is the validation of the consensus on the key intangible elements and indicators that should comprise a university intellectual capital model. Our proposed intellectual capital model helps universities on the path to presenting information that is useful to their stakeholders, contributing to greater transparency, accountability and comparability in the higher education sector. This article offers useful and specific guidelines for intellectual capital reporting practice in universities. The creation of a framework of intellectual capital reporting facilitates benchmarking analysis and comparative studies in order to help decision-making processes, improve the articulation of public policies and increase transparency in the whole system.
Psychosocial employability attributes as predictors of staff satisfaction with retention factors
Authors: Coetzee Melinde , Oosthuizen Rudolf M , Stoltz Elleen
Published: July 2015

The increased mobility of highly skilled knowledge workers who place a high premium on their employability capital challenges organisations to retain their scarce talent. This article explored individuals’ psychosocial employability attributes as predictors of their satisfaction with organisational retention factors. A cross-sectional quantitative, correlational research design was followed. A non-probability purposive sample of 321 permanently employed employees in an automotive manufacturing company in South Africa participated in the study (50% mid-career; 72% males; 50% Blacks; and 79% managerial/supervisory levels). Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that proactivity positively predicted satisfaction with job characteristics; career self-management positively predicted satisfaction with training and development opportunities, career opportunities, and work–life balance. Emotional literacy negatively predicted satisfaction with career opportunities. The results provide valuable insights regarding how employees’ psychosocial employability attributes influence their retention.
Beyond Civil Service: The Changing Face of Public Personnel Management
Authors: Klingner Donald E. , Lynn Dahlia Bradshaw
Published: July 2015

Contemporary public personnel management differs from the past because it is characterized by two emergent alternatives to traditional civil service systems for delivering public services: alternative mechanisms and flexible employment relationships. These alternatives are not new, but they are more commonplace than before. And when new public programs are designed, these alternatives have largely supplanted traditional public program delivery by “permanent” civil service employees hired through appropriated funds. Under these circumstances, it is reasonable to ask how competent are public personnel managers to deal with human resource management under these new conditions, given that most of their training and experience has been in working with traditional civil service systems and collective bargaining arrangements. This article will (1) clarify the alternatives to traditional public personnel management; (2) discuss their impact on the role of the public personnel manager; and (3) evaluate the adequacy of training in this area based on information gathered from a focus group of local government personnel managers.1
The Measurement, Use, and Development of Intellectual Capital to Increase Public Sector Productivity
Authors: Agor Weston H.
Published: July 2015

One of the most promising recent developments in the management field is the effort to measure, use, and develop what has been termed an organization's most valuable asset—intellectual capital. For public non-profit organizations, this effort has special potential for increased productivity. This is so for several reasons. These sectors are human capital intensive. Human capital is the primary source for organizational innovation and renewal. Finally, we are acquiring a better capacity through on-going brain research to tap this potential resource. This article defines what intellectual capital is, indicates the type more frequently required for productive decision making today, and describes a Brain Skill Management Program (BSM) that has successfully been field tested that can be used to measure, use, and develop an organization's intellectual capital. The article concludes with survey results demonstrating that a BSM Program can be used to enhance the learning capability of public and non-profit organizations.
The Impact of Federal Legislation to Limit Electronic Monitoring
Authors: Greenlaw Paul S. , Prundeanu Cornelia
Published: July 2015

Organizations are increasingly using technology to electronically monitor employees' telephone calls, computer use and even their physical location. Electronic monitoring's popularity is largely driven by organizational security problems and the need to measure employee performance. However, there is growing concern, particularly among employee groups and some legislators, that guidelines are needed to ensure these technologies are used responsibly and do not infringe on employee rights. Additionally, the effectiveness of unlimited electronic monitoring as a management tool is being questioned. The Privacy for Consumers and Workers Act (PCWA) was drafted in response to these concerns, and has been vigorously debated in both the House and the Senate. This article will address key arguments raised both in support of and in opposition to this legislation. Although the PCWA did not become law, the complex issues raised by unrestricted electronic monitoring of employees are likely to remain on the public policy agenda.
What Do Recruiters Want in a Public Sector Manager?
Authors: Redman Tom , Mathews Brian P.
Published: July 2015

Managers in the public sector have often been criticized for being bureaucratic, impersonal, reactive, cautious conformists when compared to their apparently charismatic, innovative, proactive and dynamic private sector counterparts; with all this implies for organizational performance. Using the recruitment advertisement as a lens, we analyze what recruiters say they are looking for in a manager in the two sectors. The results suggest that while material differences do exist, external perception owes more to stereotyping than clearly observable differences.
Interest-Based Bargaining: Labor and Management Working Together in Ramsey County, Minnesota
Authors: Brainerd Richard
Published: July 2015

In a local example, where a new approach to bargaining got started, we find Ramsey County, Minnesota. After a bitter strike and experiments with outside negotiators, the parties turned to interest-based bargaining as a way to improve the bargaining relationship. Even though the brief period that the county contracted out negotiations seemed peaceful compared to the preceding tumultuous years, the parries found that an interest-based bargaining relationship produced results beyond expectations. Construing bargaining as part of a mutual interest relationship, the parties rely on each other's on-going service and quality of work-life concerns. Now, contracts are renegotiated in record time, before expiration, in contrast to the lengthy delays under the traditional collective bargaining model. Issues are addressed by joint groups between bargaining rounds. Grievances have been reduced, thus causing less disruption. Better service is now provided, and customer service has been enhanced.

The parties also applied the interest-based approach to the always complicated problem of merging departments. Correcting the anachronism of separate city and county health departments, this new relationship and approach was used to handle the personnel and labor issues involved in such a merger. Here, Ramsey County shows how to move in a municipal context from a traditional to a cooperative relationship and how quickly the benefits spread out and emerge.
Employee Involvement in Seattle: Reengineering Government in a City Lacking a Financial Crisis
Authors: Lyons Lizanne , Vivenzio Anthony D.
Published: July 2015

Without fiscal pressure, but with a clamor for re-engineering and service reform reverberating, the usually progressive Seattle began an improved labor-management relations effort through a series of project teams sponsored by departmental joint-labor management committees. The aim was to save costs and improve service. Unlike the other examples in this issue, Seattle didn't start with bargaining improvement or conflict resolution in mind, nor did it begin with a large and visible project like health care or a civic arena. Seattle started with a simple but ambitious plan, sponsored by labor and management, to create the capacity to set up well-structured ad hoc joint teams to attack potential savings and improvements under the umbrella of joint committees in each department. Cost savings and improvements came from such diverse services as the electric utility, the parks department, fleet maintenance, the municipal court and animal control. The resulting Employee Involvement Committees can discuss any issue, other than wage and benefits, that relates to services improvement. A citywide oversight committee helps to share lessons and to help put issues relevant to bargaining into play in the proper forum. With the help of a U.S. Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) grant, Seattle and the coalition of unions jointly built training and administrative capacity to ensure success. The grant and the city support expanded the number of management and union leaders involved with constructive problem solving.

Over two dozen involvement committees were launched and made progress within a year, and many departmental joint committees were started or revitalized. The results of the EICs and related arrangements led to and created enthusiasm for expansive changes in the labor-management relationship. These innovative arrangements were also expected to affect the bargaining climate and a broader range of workplace, service and cost items. In a dramatic broadening of these early efforts, the city formed a city-level Labor Management Leadership Committee with key representatives from the city council, the mayor's office and cabinet department. The Seattle example, partly an alternative to managed competition, shows the possibilities in starting small, building capacity, focusing on service through joint efforts, and seeing the expanded trust moving to other aspects of the relationship and creating greater opportunities for improvement. This jointly authored perspective brings insight to understanding how the EICs became a successful event and an effective catalyst for broader change.
Progress toward Achieving a Representative Federal Bureaucracy: The Impact of Supervisors and Their Beliefs
Authors: Naff Katherine C.
Published: July 2015

Research conducted during the late 1970s and 1980s suggested that one reason greater progress was not being made in achieving a fully representative federal bureaucracy was that federal supervisors, who make hiring and promotion decisions on a day-to-day basis, did not support increasing workforce diversity. This paper updates and expands those findings by examining supervisors' responses to a recent governmentwide survey. It then examines the extent to which such attitudes have an impact on supervisors' efforts to hire Hispanics when they are aware that Hispanics are under-represented in their own work unit. Survey responses suggest that there is not widespread support for the concept of representative bureaucracy and that such attitudes may have an impact on their recruitment efforts. What is of more consequence in their recruitment activity, however, is their own race/national origin.
The Emergence of Collective Bargaining in the Guatemalan Public Sector: A Case of “Union Boulwarism”?
Authors: Perlman Bruce J. , Reeves T. Zane
Published: July 2015

This paper analyzes the collective bargaining process in the Guatemalan public sector through data collected in governmental documents and interviews with key participants in that process. The results reveal a model of “Union Boulwarism” in which public employee unions dominate collective bargaining through tactics of whipsawing, wildcat strikes and the emplazamiento. The paper concludes with recommendations for developing a model to encourage bargaining in good faith.
Police Officer Candidate Background Investigation Law Enforcement Management's Most Effective Tool for Employing the Most Qualified Candidate
Authors: Bradford David
Published: July 2015

The Crime Bill of 1994 has generated a large cash flow of federal funds into state and local coffers for hiring additional personnel. In the rush to get the federal funding, many agencies have altered their hiring practices for police personnel in order to meet deadlines and quotas.

Agencies have experienced a vast array of libelous situations, occupational problems, non-productive employees, and worst of all, bad cops charged with criminal activities when pre-employment screening practices have been shortcut. This article examines what can happen when hiring practices are accelerated and thorough background investigations condensed or eliminated. The article presents three elements of a quality background investigation and five policy development guidelines for producing a background investigation manual and procedure. The article also presents a sample Background Investigation Manual and Procedure and related forms developed by the author for use in his agency utilizing the concepts and principles presented.
Candidate Reduction Strategies
Authors: Coffee Karen
Published: July 2015

Human Resources Managers are attempting to administer civil service selection systems to effectively meet the often competing needs of job seekers, taxpayers, hiring supervisors, and the many requirements of the legal, social and professional environments. As jobs become scarce and applicants more plentiful, the debate intensifies over whether to take steps to reduce the number of candidates who participate in examinations. The various stakeholders have widely polarized viewpoints on this subject. While acknowledging the unresolved philosophical issue, this paper explores available strategies for applicant reduction, which do not unfairly discriminate against any legally protected group. These strategies should be thoroughly evaluated and incorporated into an agency's selection procedures only after careful consideration of their impact on the overall objectives of the agency's civil service system.
Implementing Comparable Worth/Pay Equity: Experiences of Cutting-Edge States
Authors: Gardner Susan E. , Daniel Christopher
Published: July 2015

This article focuses on the experiences of eight states that have implemented comparable worth statutes: Connecticut, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, New York, Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin. Montana did not find any gender-related disparities between its job classes, but each of the other seven states uncovered disparities and remedied them by expending amounts ranging from 1% to 4% of total payroll. Public employee unions are comparable worth/pay equity's most influential political supporters, but union support usually diminishes in the wake of pay equity adjustments. Implementation has produced unanticipated consequences: in Iowa, for example, pay adjustments generally did not benefit more senior employees but rather, in many cases, raised individual employees' salaries above those of their supervisors. Each state analyzed job classes systematically, but several states modified the consultant-provided systems due to a belief that widely-used methods undervalued female predominant job classes. As comparable worth/pay equity implementation has both technical and political dimensions, important value choices must be made throughout the process.
Effective Communication in the Performance Appraisal Interview: Face-To-Face Communication for Public Managers in the Culturally Diverse Workplace
Authors: Kikoski John F.
Published: July 2015

This article first restates and then extends a thesis about the performance appraisal process first published in this journal almost 15 years ago—that the public manager's performance in the face-to-face encounter of “the appraisal interview itself is the Achilles' heel of the entire process.” This 1983 article held that many public managers experience discomfort approaching the actual performance appraisal interview and difficulty in conducting it. For they usually are untrained, and may even be unaware of the scholarly work that has identified the skills that make for more effective face-to-face communication. At that time the published literature in this area offered little help to public managers, so the 1983 article presented six specific “microcommunication skills” to help public managers communicate more effectively in the performance appraisal interview.
Antecedents of Organizational Citizenship Behavior Revisited: Public Personnel in the United States and in the Middle East
Authors: Tang Thomas Li-Ping , Ibrahim Abdul Hamid Safwat
Published: July 2015

The antecedents of self-reported organizational citizenship behavior were examined in two samples of public personnel. Data for the first sample were collected from 155 workers in the Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation in the southeastern U.S. The second sample consisted of 378 police officers and military personnel in the Middle East (Egypt and Saudi Arabia). The results of separate step-wise multiple regression analyses showed that, for both samples, organization-based self-esteem (OBSE), need for achievement (n Ach), intrinsic job satisfaction, and low extrinsic job satisfaction were predictors of altruism, whereas low work-related stress and high organization-based self-esteem were related to compliance. The results are discussed in light of intrinsic motivation, dispositional variables, and cultural differences.
The Informal Communication Network: Factors Influencing Grapevine Activity
Authors: Crampton Suzanne M. , Hodge John W. , Mishra Jitendra M.
Published: July 2015

Although the grapevine is an inevitable part of organizational behavior, we know very little about how managers perceive the characteristics and functioning of this informal communication network. A survey was developed to examine managers' perceptions of the factors associated with grapevine activity. Of particular interest was to determine the extent managers' positions within the organization affects their perceptions of grapevine activity. The results demonstrate that 92.4% of companies surveyed had no policy to deal with the grapevine, and managers and organizations usually didn't take an active role in managing/controlling informal communication networks. The results also indicated that the managers' level of knowledge about grapevine characteristics, causes, and outcomes was affected by their organizational position. Finally, specific conditions are discussed that impact grapevine activity.
A systematic review on educational interventions for learning and implementing evidence-based practice in nursing education: The state of evidence
Authors: Melender Hanna-Leena , Mattila Lea-Riitta , Häggman-Laitila Arja
Published: July 2015

The aim of this systematic review was to gather, assess and synthesize evidence on educational interventions promoting learning and implementation of evidence-based practice in nursing education and their outcomes. Literature was sought from the Cochrane, CINAHL and PubMed databases. The data (10 articles) were analysed by applying qualitative content analysis. The analysis of the interventions produced five main categories: Theoretical foundations, Teachers and partnerships, Learning contents, Learning/teaching methods, and Learning tools. Outcomes of the evaluations were divided into three categories. A Web-based EBP learning module supplemented by help sessions, a program including the Self-Directed Learning Process for EBP Basics and a Workshop for Critical Appraisal of Literature, and an Evidence-Based Practice Project as a group work were interventions that had gained ‘excellent’ outcomes. When supporting nurse students’ learning of EBP, it is recommended to use a combination of self-directed learning and a consultation by a teacher when needed, different learning tools, as well as partnerships in planning and conducting interventions.
Spatial Work in Between Glass Ceilings and Glass Walls: Gender-Class Intersectionality and Organizational Aesthetics
Authors: Wasserman Varda , Frenkel Michal
Published: July 2015

This study explores the relations between organizational spatiality, gender, and class. It examines the work performed by managers and architects on the one hand, and by various groups of female employees on the other, in constructing, reproducing, and challenging gender-class identities through space-related means. Three types of gender-class spatial work are identified―discursive, material, and interpretive-emotional―to highlight the role of space in constructing and reconstructing inequality regimes within organizations. Applying insights from Lefebvre’s spatial theory, we analyze the case of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ new headquarters, demonstrating how the spatial work of various actors is both gendered and gendering. We also show how space is enacted by women from different social groups in accordance with their habitus and with the aim of distinguishing themselves from others.
Effect of statins on preventing infectious complications after surgery: Systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Ma Bao-Xin , Li Hua , Li Jing-Sen , Wu Sui-Sheng
Published: July 2015

Objective

* These authors contributed equally to this work. A meta-analysis to investigate the association between preoperative statin use and the risk of postoperative infectious complications in patients undergoing surgery.

Methods

PubMed® and Embase® databases were searched for relevant studies. Data were extracted using a standardized data collection form. The primary effect measure was the odds ratio (OR) of postoperative infectious complications. Summary OR were calculated.

Results

The analysis included 10 cohort studies with a total of 147 263 participants. Statin use was associated with a lower incidence of postoperative infectious complications in all studies (summary OR 0.917, 95% conﬁdence intervals [CI] 0.862, 0.975, fixed-effects model; summary OR 0.731, 95% CI 0.584, 0.870, random-effects model); cardiac surgery (summary OR 0.673; 95% CI 0.535, 0.847); treatment in the USA (summary OR 0.678; 95% CI 0.597, 0.770); retrospective cohort studies (summary OR 0.664; 95% CI 0.521, 0.846).

Conclusion

Preoperative statin use is associated with a reduced risk of postoperative infectious complications.
A qualitative meta-synthesis about challenges experienced in occupational therapy practice
Authors: Murray Carolyn , Turpin Merrill , Edwards Ian , Jones Mark
Published: July 2015

Introduction

Information about challenges for occupational therapists is typically provided in small-scale studies from different perspectives. The purpose of this meta-synthesis was to synthesise and report about challenges in occupational therapy practice that appear to penetrate across the profession.

Method

Databases searched were Ovid Medline, EMBASE, AMED and CINAHL. Search terms were selected after gaining understanding of the topic: occupational therap* AND Exp burnout / OR Exp morals / OR retention OR clinical reasoning OR new graduate OR novice OR transition-to-practice. Studies were critically appraised using the criteria of credibility, transferability, confirmability and dependability. Findings, along with direct quotes, were extracted and data compared and contrasted through first, second and third order analysis.

Findings

Twenty-four studies were included in the meta-synthesis and three constructs were identified: ‘challenges in context’; ‘personal challenges’ and ‘social and cultural challenges’. These findings inform knowledge about constraining factors on clinical reasoning and the alignment of practice with the occupational therapy philosophy, and give insight into satisfaction with practice, ethical and professional behaviours.

Conclusion

These findings could inform provision of professional support, education for students and enhance agency to reform practice. More research is needed about professional socialisation, clinical reasoning and ethical issues.
Forming-limit prediction of perforated aluminium sheets with square holes
Authors: Chiba Ryoichi , Takeuchi Hiroshi , Nakamura Ryo
Published: July 2015

The forming-limit strains of perforated aluminium alloy (AA5052-O) sheets with square holes were theoretically and experimentally estimated for two types of hole arrangements: square and triangular patterns. The theoretical forming-limit curves were obtained by finite-element analyses on a unit module of the perforated sheets using two different approaches: the phenomenological theory and crystal plasticity theory. Hill’s quadratic anisotropic and von Mises yield functions were used for the phenomenological analysis, and the one-element-per-grain model was adopted for the crystal plasticity analysis. To determine the forming limits, two different types of plastic instability criteria were applied. The experimental forming-limit strains were also obtained through a Nakazima stretching test. The theoretical predictability of the forming-limit curves was assessed by comparing the theoretical and experimental results. The comparison demonstrated that (1) the plastic instability criterion based on the external force power predicted qualitatively the same forming-limit curves as the criterion based on the equivalent plastic strain of the ligament for both hole arrangement patterns and (2) although the shapes of the predicted forming-limit curves were in reasonable agreement with the experimental results, the level of the predicted limit strains was considerably higher than that of the experimental limit strains. Thus, it was found that neither of the plastic instability criteria previously proposed for perforated sheets is appropriate to characterise the formability of perforated aluminium sheets with square holes.
Individual Responsibility, Culture, or State Organized Enslavement? How Tea Party Activists Frame Racial Inequality
Authors: Haltinner Kristin
Published: July 2015

This article explores how Tea (Taxed Enough Already) Party activists produce and circulate stories about racial inequality, presenting four distinct frames that reflect nonconformity in the Tea Party’s racial narrative. Activists engage with four racial frames: racism denial, individual responsibility, cultural responsibility, and structural responsibility. The Tea Party unites using frame amplification to emphasize the master frame of color blindness that allows activists, regardless of the frame with which they engage, to unite under the broader notion that they are all idyllically color blind.
Stumbling Blocks or Stepping Stones? The Problems and Promises of Policy Reform for the Animal Advocacy Movement
Authors: Evans Erin M.
Published: July 2015

Activists rarely get everything they want from law and policy reforms. During the legislative process, proposed laws are negotiated, and what results are compromised versions of the laws activists originally lobbied for. Do these policy concessions create stumbling blocks or stepping stones for activists to pursue further change? The movement for animal protection in laboratory research provides a good case for examining this broad theoretical issue. I examine the influence of federal regulation at the laboratory level by interviewing scientists, bioethicists, veterinarians, and other professionals involved in research with animals. Some types of policy reform created structural access to laboratory decision-making for actors such as regulatory officials and bioethicists. This access facilitated dramatic changes in bureaucratic practices in the laboratory, and the potential for changes in the ethical considerations and attitudes of those involved in animal research. This access also provides institutional opportunities for activists to affect decision-making in the direction toward ending the practices they target.
Feminist Identity, Feminist Politics
Authors: Kelly Maura , Gauchat Gordon
Published: July 2015

Feminist scholars and activists have endorsed a broad and intersectional political agenda that addresses multiple dimensions of inequality, such as gender, sexuality, race/ethnicity, and class. We examine whether or not this perspective is also held by self-identified feminists in the general public. Drawing on public opinion polls from 2007 to 2009, we assess self-identified feminists’ attitudes toward a range of social policies. We find that after controlling for sociodemographic factors and political ideology, feminist identity is associated with progressive attitudes on policies related to gender and sexuality (e.g., abortion) as well as policies related to other social justice issues (e.g., immigration, health care). We also find some interactions between feminist identity and gender, age, education, and political ideology, suggesting some heterogeneity in feminists’ political attitudes. Overall, these findings suggest that feminists in the general public support an intersectional social justice agenda rather than a narrow focus on gender issues.
A Cross-national Analysis of Religion and Attitudes toward Premarital Sex
Authors: Jung Jong Hyun
Published: July 2015

This study examines how micro-level religious effects and macro-level economic contexts shape individuals’ attitudes toward premarital sex. It then investigates whether the effects of individual-level religiosity on approval of premarital sex are contingent on the economic characteristics of a nation, reflected by a country’s gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. Multilevel analyses of data from the sixth wave of the World Values Survey (2010–2014) reveal that both individual religiosity and GDP per capita are important predictors of attitudes toward premarital sex. Furthermore, cross-level interactions suggest that individual religiosity has a greater negative effect on approval of premarital sex in countries that are more economically developed. I discuss how these findings speak to theories about religion, economic modernization, and the ways that macro-level contexts are linked with micro-level factors.
Fighting Feelings
Authors: Sacha Jeffrey O.
Published: July 2015

This article explores the mentorship of low-income young men of color by examining amateur boxing coaches and the training techniques that they use. Studying both the actions and the intentions of boxing coaches offers insights into the increasingly rare experience of adult male mentorship for low-income young men of color. Data for this article come from a 13-month ethnographic study of a South Los Angeles boxing gym and in-depth interviews with the gym’s boxing coaches. This article explores two aspects of the training process from the coach’s point of view: the creation and enforcement of rules to differentiate the boxing gym from “the street” and the use of “emotional regimens” in training. The coaches in this study acted as “old head” mentors for their fighters and used emotional regimens to encourage a particular form of masculinity with their amateur boxers that simultaneously embraced and forbade certain expressions of “street” masculinity.
Measuring the Process and Outcomes of Team Problem Solving
Authors: Algozzine Bob , Horner Robert H. , Todd Anne W. , Newton J. Stephen , Algozzine Kate , Cusumano Dale
Published: July 2015

Although there is a strong legislative base and perceived efficacy for multidisciplinary team decision making, limited evidence supports its effectiveness or consistency of implementation in practice. In recent research, we used the Decision Observation, Recording, and Analysis (DORA) tool to document activities and adult behaviors during positive behavior support team meetings. In this study, we revised the DORA to provide evidence of the extent to which the solutions that teams developed were implemented with fidelity and associated with improvements in student behavior. Using trained observers, we documented decision making at 18 meetings in 10 schools where team members discussed a total of 44 problems. We found that scores on the Decision Observation, Recording, and Analysis–II (DORA-II) were acceptable indicators for documenting problem solving during team meetings and that they provided technically adequate information on the extent to which teams were assessing whether they had implemented a solution and whether the solution made a difference for students. We believe the revised assessment tool has value in studying team-based problem solving, and we discuss our findings as a base for a well-reasoned research agenda for moving the process forward as evidence-based practice.
Positive and Negative Ageism
Authors: Chonody Jill M.
Published: July 2015

Addressing social injustice is an integral aspect to social work; however, the challenge lies in the fact that society is stratified by sociodemographic characteristics creating power and privilege for some and oppression for many. Understanding how biases that support this social structure are interrelated further elucidates the systemic nature of biases. This study examined the extent to which sexist beliefs would help explain ageism. Results indicated that benevolent sexism was associated with positive ageism, and hostile sexism helped explain negative ageism. These findings contribute to theory development on interlocking prejudices and inform pedagogical approaches that help address biases.
The Relationship Between a Person’s Criminal History, Immediate Situational Factors, and Lethal Versus Non-Lethal Events
Authors: Ganpat Soenita Minakoemarie , van der Leun Joanne , Nieuwbeerta Paul
Published: July 2015

When investigating serious violence, studies tend to look primarily at offenders and their background. This study investigates the influence of offenders’ and victims’ criminal history and immediate situational factors on the likelihood that violent events will end lethally. For this purpose, we compare lethal with non-lethal events, and combine Dutch criminal records with data from court files of those involved in lethal (i.e., homicide, n = 126) versus non-lethal events (i.e., attempted homicide, n = 141). Results reveal that both criminal history and immediate situational factors clearly matter for the outcome of violent events; however, immediate situational factors have the strongest effect on violent outcomes.
Examining the Determinants of Police Department Transparency
Authors: Chanin Joshua , Espinosa Salvador
Published: July 2015

Scholars know relatively little about why law enforcement agencies choose to share information with the public. Empirical research has shown that departments often do so to satisfy an external demand, whether in the form of a statute requiring information to be collected and disseminated, the presence of a consent decree, or some other similar pressure. There is also evidence that transparency is the product of a unique constellation of factors within agencies that lead certain departments to share more information than others. But this line of inquiry is underdeveloped, and questions remain about both the nature and degree to which these external and internal factors matter. This article focuses on the role of police executives in generating the agency’s response to transparency demands, with a particular focus on such demands generated by civilian oversight agencies and the role that top leadership plays in establishing an organizational culture that values openness and transparency. To address these issues, we draw on the results of a series of Q-sorting exercises and the insights gleaned from several semi-structured interviews with municipal police chiefs and county sheriffs. Preliminary results suggest that the vision and goals of police executives are critical to his or her department’s online transparency.
Phenomenology-Based Ethnography
Authors: vom Lehn Dirk , Hitzler Ronald
Published: July 2015

The article provides the background and rationale for the Special Issue. It explains the origins of phenomenology-based ethnography in Alfred Schutz’s analysis of the life-world and points to some recent development in this approach that is of particular importance in sociology in German-speaking countries. It finishes with a brief introduction to the articles of the issue.
Managing Image in a Core-Stigmatized Organization
Authors: Wolfe Anna Wiederhold , Blithe Sarah Jane
Published: July 2015

This study examines the nature of the revelation–concealment dialectic faced by Nevada’s legal brothels as these organizations work to strategically build visibility despite external pressures to keep them hidden and internal desires to protect the privacy of certain organizational stakeholders. In addition, in instances of organizational visibility, we examine brothels’ strategies for managing core-stigma while attempting to project a socially acceptable public image. Brothels address this revelation–concealment dialectic by adopting stigma-management strategies of distancing themselves from identities they perceive as socially undesirable and aligning themselves with nonstigmatized industry practices. At the same time, the brothels construct selectively permeable organizational boundaries through the invitation of controlled outsider boundary-crossings and through the promotion of their own community-engagement efforts. These results extend research on hidden organizations to consider the particular image-management challenges faced by shadowed organizations.
Fast fault estimation for linear systems with unmatched faults
Authors: Li Fei , Zhao Guorong , Huang Jingli
Published: July 2015

This paper proposes a fast fault estimation (FE) method for a class of linear time-invariant systems, which relaxes the strict observer matching condition. Firstly, the integration unknown input observer is designed for the more widely left invertible systems. Secondly, for strongly observable systems, by digesting the idea of a finite-time observer, the finite-time integration unknown input observer is designed, and the faults are estimated exactly in pre-designed arbitrary finite time. Furthermore, for strongly detectable systems, after the system decomposed into strongly observable part and nonstrongly observable part, faults are able to be reconstructed very rapidly due to the finite-time observation of the strongly observable subsystem. The simulation results illustrate the effectiveness and the advantage of the proposed fast fault estimation schemes.
Simplified compound suction schemes of an aspirated highly loaded compressor cascade
Authors: Guo Shuang , Lu Huawei , Gao Nan , Liu Jie , Wu Chuijie
Published: July 2015

Active flow control should be adopted at more than one critical position in highly loaded aspirated compressors due to the severe flow separation and obvious three-dimensional characteristics of the flow field. A deep insight into the mechanism of the simplified compound boundary layer suction in a highly loaded compressor cascade was experimentally and numerically revealed in this paper. Locations of the two suction slots in the studied compound suction schemes were determined through previous experimental investigations on the single-slot suction schemes. Base on the one-side suction manner and the shared suction recycle system, the suction flow distribution over the suction surface slot (SS4) presented to be C-type along the spanwise both in single-slot cases and the compound suction schemes. On the other hand, the flow distribution over the endwall slot (EW1) was no longer that even along the axial direction after it cooperates with the SS4 slot, especially under the small total suction flow rate. The studied compound suction scheme owns obvious advantages in improving aerodynamic performance of the compressor cascade, when the total suction flow rate is big enough for both slots. About one-sixth loss reduction was achieved in the compound suction scheme with 1.5% suction flow rate. Therefore, the simplification of suction equipment via sharing one set of suction system and employing one-side suction manner is proved to be feasible and as effective in the studied multi-slot suction schemes.
Concept-Based Word Learning in Human Infants
Authors: Yin Jun , Csibra Gergely
Published: July 2015

Whether infants initially learn object labels by mapping them onto similarity-defining perceptual features or onto concepts of object kinds remains under debate. We addressed this question by attempting to teach infants words for behaviorally defined action roles. In a series of experiments, we found that 14-month-olds could rapidly learn a label for the role played by the chaser in a chasing scenario, even when the different instances of chasers did not share perceptual features. Furthermore, when infants could choose, they preferred to interpret a novel label as expressing the agent’s role within the observed interaction rather than as being associated with the agent’s appearance. These results demonstrate that infants can learn labels as easily (or even more easily) for concepts identified by abstract behavioral characteristics as for objects identified by perceptual features. Thus, at early stages of word learning, infants already expect that novel words express concepts.
The myth of Kurt Lewin and the rhetoric of collective memory in social psychology textbooks
Authors: Billig Michael
Published: July 2015

This article examines how social psychology textbooks represent Kurt Lewin and his contribution to social psychology. Many textbooks describe Lewin as the father of social psychology, using a conventional, passive-voiced trope to do so. The rhetorical meaning of this trope is analysed to show that textbooks are invoking a collective memory, which closes down views of the past, rather than making a historical argument, which opens up the past for examination. This depiction of Lewin typically involves forgetting his critical views about statistics and experimentation. When textbooks cite Lewin’s famous motto “there is nothing as practical as a good theory,” they tend to ascribe it a special status. In doing so, they change its meaning subtly and treat it as a truth that needs no empirical validation. By their rhetoric, omissions, and avoidance of historical sources, textbooks recreate Lewin as a mythic figure rather than a historical one.
Pregnancy outcome for fetuses with increased nuchal translucency but normal karyotype
Authors: Lithner Christina Unger , Kublickas Marius , Ek Sverker
Published: July 2015

Objective

To investigate pregnancy outcome for fetuses with nuchal translucency (NT) ≥3.5 mm but normal karyotype in the Stockholm (Sweden) area.

Methods

A retrospective population-based cohort study. From 2006 to 2012, fetal NT was measured in 55123 singleton pregnancies. There were 341 pregnancies with NT thickness ≥3.5 mm; 139 had a normal karyotype, 164 had an abnormal karyotype and 38 were removed from the study. Pregnancy outcome was defined as adverse (termination of pregnancy [TOP], miscarriage [MC], intrauterine fetal death [IUFD], or delivery of a child with structural defects or genetic disorders), or favourable (delivery of a child without any structural defects or genetic disorders diagnosed before discharge).

Results

Of the 139 high NT pregnancies with normal karyotype, 110 (79.2%) resulted in live births, one (0.7%) IUFD, 23 (16.5%) TOP and five (3.6%) MC. The risk of an adverse pregnancy outcome increased with increasing NT. Structural fetal defects were found in 28 (19.5%) of pregnancies undergoing second trimester ultrasound screening, of which seven resulted in live births and 21 were terminated. The most common structural defect was cardiac defects.

Conclusions

Adverse pregnancy outcome increased with increasing NT, even with normal karyotype, however, the prognosis is good if the second trimester ultrasound screening is normal.
Playing together without communicating? A pre-reflective and enactive account of joint musical performance
Authors: Schiavio Andrea , Høffding Simon
Published: July 2015

In this article we explore the role of pre-reflective, embodied, and interactive intentionality in joint musical performance. Putting together insights from phenomenology and current theories in cognitive science, we present a case study based on qualitative interviews with the Danish String Quartet (DSQ). A total of 12 hours of interviews was recorded, drawing on ethnography-related methodologies during tours with the DSQ in Denmark and England in 2012 and 2013, focusing mainly on their experience of perception, intentionality, absorption, selfhood and intersubjectivity. The analysis emerging from our data suggests that expert musicians’ experience of collective music-making is rooted in the dynamical patterns of perception and action that co-constitute the sonic environment(s) in which they are embedded, and that the role of attention and other reflective processes should therefore be reconsidered. In putting forward our view on ensemble cohesion, we challenge Keller’s and Seddon and Biasutti’s influential positions, maintaining that the cognitive processes at play in such intersubjective context are grounded in the concrete (inter)actions of the players, and are not reducible to processes and structures ‘in the head’. We argue that this is a significant step forward from more traditional accounts of joint musical performances, which often involve mental representations as principal explanatory tools – downplaying the embodied and participatory dimension of music-making – and we conclude that ensemble performance can take place without attention to either shared goals, or to the other ensemble musicians. We finally suggest that if other researchers want to understand what it is like to play with other musicians then they must shift their focus from Joint Musical Attention (JMA) to Joint Musical Experience (JME), facilitating the development of more ecologically valid models of collective musical performance.
Teaching Writing in Adult Literacy
Authors: Nielsen Kristen
Published: July 2015

Writing is critical to success in education, the workplace, and everyday communication yet receives limited attention in the research, particularly the topic of writing instruction in adult education. Adult literacy practitioners frequently lack training in writing instruction and must rely on a confusing array of information, primarily derived from K-12 pedagogy. This literature synthesis investigates findings from studies of writing focusing on adult literacy and explicates specific instructional practices and strategies for teaching writing to adult learners. Findings highlight the importance of fostering motivation, persistence, and self-efficacy and indicate motivation and achievement increase when instructors introduce specific writing micro-goals, share explicit feedback, and provide evidence of progress. Classrooms should incorporate opportunities for creative expression, authentic materials and communication, writing task contextualization, explicit strategy instruction, regular journaling and personal writing, and technology and multimedia integration. Research gaps in supporting adult learner writing are identified, and implications and ideas for future research are offered.