bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Flow experiences of children in an interactive social game environment
Authors: Inal Yavuz , Cagiltay Kursat 
Published: April 2007

AbstractThis study examines children's flow experiences in an interactive social game environment. A total of 33 children aged from 7 to 9 years participated in the study for 6 weeks. Data were collected through observations and interviews. In order to measure the flow experiences of the children, items of a flow scale were administered to the children through interviews. Results revealed that flow experiences occur more among boys than girls during gameplay. While ludology had more effect on the flow experiences of boys when compared with the narratology of computer games, narratology had more effect among girls. Challenge and complexity elements of games had more effect on the flow experiences of the children than clear feedback.
Blending video games with learning: Issues and challenges with classroom implementations in the Turkish context
Authors: Tüzün Hakan 
Published: April 2007

AbstractThe research design for this study focuses on examining the core issues and challenges when video games are used in the classroom. For this purpose three naturalistic contexts in Turkey were examined in which educational video games were used as the basis for teaching units on world continents and countries, first aid, and basic computer hardware and peripherals, in primary, secondary and higher education contexts respectively. Methods employed in the data collection include observing lessons, taking field notes, interviewing students and teachers, saving online discourse data, and collecting student artifacts and reflections. Findings identified issues related to (1) the design of the video game environment, (2) school infrastructure, (3) the nature of learning, the role of the teacher and classroom culture, and (4) engagement.
Sex, lies and video games
Authors: Kearney Paul , Pivec Maja 
Published: April 2007

AbstractSex and violence in video games is a social issue that confronts us all, especially as many commercial games are now being introduced for game‐based learning in schools, and as such this paper polls teenage players about the rules their parents and teachers may or may not have, and surveys the gaming community, ie, game developers to parents, to ascertain their views on who is responsible for the guidelines on game content. Although the authors do not condone excessive sexual and violent video games, we advocate the value in games in general and the ‘hidden value’ of this genre in many areas, including game‐based learning. The aim of this paper is to show the multidimensionality and complexity of the topic that often exceeds the domain of video games.
A methodological proposal for learning games selection and quality assessment
Authors: Dondi Claudio , Moretti Michela 
Published: April 2007

AbstractThis paper presents a methodological proposal elaborated in the framework of two European projects dealing with game‐based learning, both of which have focused on ‘quality’ aspects in order to create suitable tools that support European educators, practitioners and lifelong learners in selecting and assessing learning games for use in teaching and learning processes. Both projects Uni‐Game (Game‐Based Learning for Universities and Life Long Learning) and Sig‐Glue (Special Interest Group for Game‐Based Learning in Universities and Lifelong Learning) have been cofunded by the European Commission since 2002, and both have involved organisations from different European countries, backgrounds and expertises, and as a result of this work, a ‘classification of games by learning purposes’ and an ‘evaluation framework for assessing games’ have been designed and placed at the disposal of European educators, practitioners and lifelong learners.
Sustainability or Ruin of a Common Resource Economy with Random Jump
Authors: Fujisaki Masatoshi , Katayama Seiichi , Ohta Hiroshi 
Published: April 2007

AbstractWe consider a common resource economy in which agents exploit the common resource, and use it to produce goods and consume the goods produced. Also the agents can invest in private and productive capital. The resource extracted from the common resource is non‐renewable and the common pool is under uncertainty in the sense that it could have a sudden increase or decrease in the course of extraction. In this model we shall explore the probability of sustainability or ruin of the economy. We compare and discuss the optimal extraction rules and the probabilities under cooperative and non‐cooperative regimes.
Trade Reform and Informal Wages
Authors: Marjit Sugata , Kar Saibal , Beladi Hamid 
Published: April 2007

AbstractWhen trade reform contracts protected formal sectors in developing countries and the formal workers move to the informal sector for employment, does that reduce informal wages? Using a 2 × 2 Heckscher–Ohlin–Samuelson (HOS) structure with formal–informal production organization for the same commodity, we show that a tariff cut in the import‐competing sector increases both informal wage and employment under very reasonable assumptions. An increase in the price of the export commodity will also increase informal wages, although aggregate informal employment unambiguously falls even if the informal export sector is labor intensive. Furthermore, the formal–informal segmentation of each sector opens up an interesting, hitherto unexplored, possibility that the informal export sector may contract despite a price increase in this sector. Change in the overall size of the export sector is also ambiguous and conditional on the relative strengths of changes in these two segments.
A Model of Outsourcing and Foreign Direct Investment
Authors: Stähler Frank 
Published: April 2007

AbstractThis paper presents a model in which two firms may use foreign direct investment or outsourcing in order to reduce the production cost of an intermediate input. Outsourcing requires training which is costly and creates a positive spillover. The paper shows that the equilibrium depends on the level of training costs. If they are high, only bilateral outsourcing is possible in equilibrium. If bilateral outsourcing is incomplete, it will not change prices compared to no outsourcing. If they are low, only complete outsourcing is possible. If complete outsourcing is unilateral (bilateral), the price increases (decreases) with the degree of spillovers.
Endogenous Growth and Publicly Funded Knowledge Accumulation
Authors: Truong Công Nghê , Tran‐Nam Binh 
Published: April 2007

AbstractWe investigate a centrally planned, infinite horizon, single good economy in which new knowledge is generated in a separate R&D sector with government subsidy. The rate of growth of new ideas is assumed to be linear in the amount of labor devoted to R&D. Perpetual growth in per capita output and consumption is sustained by the spillover effects of knowledge creation. Using an isoelastic social welfare function and a general production function, the unique balanced growth path is characterized and the conditions for balanced growth to take place derived. In analyzing standard balanced growth, we demonstrate that so long as physical capital and knowledge grow at some arbitrarily constant rates along an optimal time path, the two rates must necessarily be equal. Using a Cobb–Douglas production function, the dynamic evolution of the economy is explicitly described in closed form for each state and control variables. In particular, it is shown that the economy either (i) attains the balanced growth path from the initial time, or (ii) converges monotonically to the balanced growth path. An asymptotic balanced growth path along which labor input in manufacturing tends to zero in the long run is ruled out by the tranversality condition on knowledge.
Temporary and Permanent Immigration under Unionization
Authors: Zhao Laixun , Kondoh Kenji 
Published: April 2007

AbstractThis paper investigates permanent and temporary immigration and remittance under the coexistence of unionized and non‐unionized manufacturing firms in a two‐sector economy. The impacts of immigration and remittance on respectively wages, employment, the union–non‐union wage gap and national welfare are analyzed. It is found that both permanent immigration (economy‐wide) and temporary immigration in agriculture bring positive effects on most variables (except the competitive wage), but widens the wage gap and causes income redistribution in the host country. However, if temporary immigrants work in manufacturing only, then all wages and the union–non‐union wage gap fall. That is, workers become more equally paid but poorer. In addition, remittance and globalization cause negative effects on union workers and employers. It is perhaps such consequences and the income redistribution effect of immigration that cause the media to paint a negative image of immigration.
Transfrontier conservation areas: Integrating biodiversity and poverty alleviation in Southern Africa
Authors: Munthali Simon M. 
Published: April 2007

Abstract Sub‐Saharan Africa continues to face the daunting challenge of alleviating poverty due to slow economic growth. In southern Africa, most countries are adopting policies that promote the integration of biodiversity conservation and rural development to contribute to rural poverty alleviation. Numerous approaches have been undertaken in this endeavour, including Transfrontier Parks (TFPs) and Transfrontier Conservation Areas (TFCAs). This paper discusses some of the limitations of the TFPs. In conclusion I posit that unlike TFPs, which are state controlled and managed, TFCAs, which promote multi‐land use and multi‐stakeholder participation are attainable and have a higher probability of sustaining biodiversity conservation and contributing to the alleviation of rural poverty, if: (i) areas of high biodiversity conservation within communal areas can be identified, zoned and leveraged to biodiversity conservation and managed in partnership between the communities and the private sector; (ii) local communities can secure legal rights to their customary land being devoted to biodiversity conservation and use such pieces of land as collateral in negotiating partnerships with the private sector in developing conservation‐based enterprises; (iii) functional community natural resource governance institutions can be established and empowered to represent their constituencies in securing fair equity from profits made from sustainable use of the conserved biodiversity assets and tourism businesses; (iv) concerted effort can be invested in developing and implementing family planning and fertility reduction strategies that would slow down human population growth to levels that can be sustained by the available natural resources; and (v) if sustainable financing mechanisms can be developed, and the governance of protected areas occurring in the TFCAs can be broadened to include other stakeholders.
Impact of Hepatitis C on HIV Progression in Adults With Alcohol Problems
Authors: Cheng Debbie M. , Nunes David , Libman Howard , Vidaver John , Alperen Julie K. , Saitz Richard , Samet Jeffrey H. 
Published: April 2007

Background: Coinfection of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a substantial medical and public health concern due to its increasing prevalence and complex patient management. Alcohol use may worsen HCV‐related liver disease and interfere with adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) and medical care. We therefore studied the association between HCV infection and markers of HIV disease progression in adults with alcohol problems.Methods: This is a longitudinal study of 396 HIV‐infected persons with alcohol problems, 199 (50%) of whom were coinfected with HCV (positive HCV RNA test). CD4 cell counts and HIV RNA levels were assessed at baseline and then every 6 months for up to 42 months. Hepatitis C virus RNA status was determined at study enrollment. We examined the relationship between HCV infection and laboratory markers of HIV progression (CD4 cell count and log10 HIV RNA) by fitting multivariable longitudinal regression models for each outcome.Results: Among subjects who were adherent to ART, the presence of HCV infection was associated with a lower CD4 cell count (adjusted mean difference −46.0 cells/μL, p=0.03). There was no association observed between HCV infection and CD4 cell count among those not adherent to ART or those not taking ART. No significant association was observed between HCV infection and HIV RNA regardless of ART status.Conclusions: Hepatitis C virus infection has an adverse effect on CD4 cell count in patients with alcohol problems who are adherent to ART. Addressing HCV coinfection among these patients may confer additional immunologic benefit for this patient population.
Against Hauerwas
Authors: Hobson Theo 
Published: April 2007

Abstract
This essay questions the theological position developed by Stanley
Hauerwas over three decades. It first traces the origins of his thought, and
argues that the alliance of radical Reformation ecclesiology with postmodern
philosophy leads to an intensely idealistic ecclesiology. Hauerwas's
exaltation of particular communal practices is ultimately unreal, as he
fails to locate these practices in a particular institution. Due to the
unreality of his ecclesiology his attack on Christendom and Constantinianism
lacks substance. In the end he undermines his own position by identifying
the truth of Christianity with the concrete practices of a distinctive
community that he cannot identify.
Mozart's Don Giovanni and the Invitation to Full Freedom
Authors: Casey Thomas G. 
Published: April 2007

Abstract
Mozart's operatic masterpiece Don Giovanni
raises pivotal questions about freedom and society: should freedom be
without constraints? Is absolute freedom possible? In certain key ways these
concerns of Mozart's culture resonate with issues that preoccupy us today.
Composed in 1787, during the final years of the liberal regime introduced by
the Habsburg emperor Joseph II, the opera reflects the shadow side of his
“enlightened” reforms. The serial seducer Don Giovanni represents a liberty
that has degenerated into libertinism. The freedom that Don Giovanni wants
to retain at all costs is merely freedom as the absence of physical
constraint. In the contemporary world many people aspire to a similarly
riven freedom: they reject the dictates of external authority, and docilely
submit to the promptings of instinctual drives. Christianity invites human
beings to reach beyond themselves in love. Marriage exemplifies the
self-giving of permanent commitment, and contrasts starkly with Don
Giovanni's egoistic consumption and hasty disposal of women. Although the
lyrics and plot of Mozart's opera never evoke the Trinity, the musical
perfection of his work dances on the threshold of Revelation, and opens its
hearers up to the liberating mystery of the freedom of Trinitarian
love.
Sacramental Ontology: Nature and the Supernatural in the Ecclesiology of
Henri de Lubac
Authors: Boersma Hans 
Published: April 2007

Abstract
This essay argues that for Henri de Lubac, a sacramental ontology
provides the link between a Eucharistically based ecclesiology and the issue
of the relationship between nature and the supernatural. For de Lubac it is
the sacramental order of reality that draws humanity to a deeper
participation in the divine life. Maurice Blondel's substitution of
Tradition for the dilemma between extrinsicism and historicism shapes de
Lubac's sacramental ontology. The latter's concern for the social character
of the Church and his opposition to an individualist ecclesiology are key to
his understanding of the relationship between the supernatural and the
Eucharistic character of the Church. Arguing that Eucharist and Church are
mutually constituting, de Lubac wants to counter both extrinsicist and
historicist approaches to the Church. For de Lubac, the Eucharist provides
an avenue for the mutual interpenetration of nature and the supernatural,
thereby overcoming the dualism between extrinsicism and historicism. It is
through the sacramental means of Christ, the Church, and the Eucharist, that
God is present in the world. This presence means for de Lubac neither an
acceptance of the State on its own terms nor an exaggerated spiritualist
critique of Constantinianism.
The Literary Representation of Women Doctors in the United States, 1860–1920
Authors: Wegener Frederick 
Published: April 2007

AbstractLiterary representations of women doctors in the United States between 1860 and 1920 – the period in which women first entered the American medical profession – have become the focus of extensive critical study over the past thirty years. Much as the initial rise of American women doctors has recently attracted the attention of historians, so many of the images of women physicians that circulated in the United States during the same period have come to be examined by literary scholars and critics. This ongoing scholarly consideration of literary representations of American women as physicians has evolved along a path that corresponds to important phases in literary studies generally since the 1970s: the emergence of second‐wave feminist criticism, a return to historically oriented modes of critical analysis, and the growth of interdisciplinary approaches, among other influential developments. Many such approaches to early imaginative representations of American women doctors have been flawed, however, in their use either of documentary evidence or of analytical paradigms drawn from the history of medicine, the history of science, and related fields. Moreover, critical discussion continues to focus primarily on a small fraction of the number of literary images of women doctors that proliferated in the United States between 1860 and 1920 – further illustrating how far this area of inquiry has yet to develop and expand in order to do justice to such a pervasive, conspicuous phenomenon in American literary history.
LOXL1 and LOXL4 Are Epigenetically Silenced and Can Inhibit Ras/Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinase Signaling Pathway in Human Bladder Cancer
Authors: Wu Guojun , Guo Zhongmin , Chang Xiaofei , Kim Myoung Sook , Nagpal Jatin K. , Liu Junwei , Maki Joni M. , Kivirikko Kari I. , Ethier Stephen P. , Trink Barry , Sidransky David 
Published: April 2007

Abstract
Promoter hypermethylation is one of the common mechanisms leading to gene silencing in various human cancers. Using a combination of pharmacologic unmasking and microarray techniques, we identified 59 candidate hypermethylated genes, including LOXL1, a lysyl oxidase-like gene, in human bladder cancer cells. We further showed that LOXL1 and LOXL4 are commonly silenced genes in human bladder cancer cells, and this silence is predominantly related to promoter methylation. We also found LOXL1 and LOXL4 gene methylation and loss of expression in primary bladder tumors. In addition, somatic mutations were identified in LOXL4, but not in LOXL1 in bladder cancer. Moreover, reintroduction of LOXL1 and LOXL4 genes into human bladder cancer cells leads to a decrease of colony formation ability. Further studies indicated that the overexpression of LOXL1 and LOXL4 could antagonize Ras in activating the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signaling pathway. Thus, our current study suggests for the first time that lysyl oxidase-like genes can act as tumor suppressor genes and exert their functions through the inhibition of the Ras/ERK signaling pathway in human bladder cancer. [Cancer Res 2007;67(9):4123–9]
The SIL Gene Is Essential for Mitotic Entry and Survival of Cancer Cells
Authors: Erez Ayelet , Castiel Asher , Trakhtenbrot Luba , Perelman Marina , Rosenthal Esther , Goldstein Itamar , Stettner Noa , Harmelin Alon , Eldar-Finkelman Hagit , Campaner Stefano , Kirsch Ilan , Izraeli Shai 
Published: April 2007

Abstract
Although mitosis is a general physiologic process, cancer cells are unusually sensitive to mitotic inhibitors. Therefore, there is an interest in the identification of novel mitotic inhibitors. Here, we report the novel discovery of the SIL gene as a regulator of mitotic entry and cell survival. The SIL gene was cloned from leukemia-associated chromosomal translocation. It encodes a cytosolic protein with an unknown function and no homology to known proteins. Previously, we observed an increased expression of SIL in multiple cancers that correlated with the expression of mitotic spindle checkpoint genes and with increased metastatic potential. Here, we show that SIL is important for the transition from the G2 to the M phases of the cell cycle. Inducible knockdown of SIL in cancer cells in vitro delayed entrance into mitosis, decreased activation of the CDK1 (CDC2)-cyclin B complex, and induced apoptosis in a p53-independent manner. SIL is also essential for the growth of tumor explants in mice. Thus, SIL is required for mitotic entry and cancer cell survival. Because increased expression of SIL has been noted in multiple types of cancers and correlates with metastatic spread, it may be a suitable target for novel anticancer therapy. [Cancer Res 2007;67(9):4022–7]
Evaluation of toxic metals in biological samples (scalp hair, blood and urine) of steel mill workers by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry
Authors: Afridi Hassan I , Kazi Tasneem G , Jamali Mohammad K , Kazi Gul H , Arain Mohammad B , Jalbani Nusrat , Shar Ghulam Q , Sarfaraz Raja A 
Published: April 2007

The determination of toxic metals in the biological samples of human beings is an important clinical screening procedure. This study aimed to assess the possible influence of environmental exposure on production workers (PW) and quality control workers (QCW) of a steel mill, all male subjects aged 25-55 years. In this investigation, the concentrations of Pb, Cd, Ni and Cr were determined in biological samples (blood, urine and scalp hair samples) from these steel mill workers in relation to controlled unexposed healthy subjects of the same age group. After pre-treatment with nitric acid-hydrogen peroxide, the samples were digested via a microwave oven, and for comparison purposes, the same samples were digested by the conventional wet acid digestion method. The samples digested were subjected to graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS). To assess the reliability of these methods, critical factors, such as detection limit(s), calibration range(s), accuracy and precision, were studied. Quality control for these procedures was established with certified sample of human hair, urine and whole blood. The results indicate that the level of lead, cadmium and nickel in scalp hair, blood and urine samples were significantly higher in both groups of exposed workers (QW and PW) than those of the controls. The possible connection of these elements with the etiology of disease is discussed. The results also show the need for immediate improvements in workplace ventilation and industrial hygiene practices. Toxicology and Industrial Health 2006; 22: 381-393.