bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Gene specific siRNA selector
Authors: Levenkova Natasha , Gu Qingjuan , Rux John J. 
Published: February 2004

Abstract
Summary: Small interfering RNA (siRNA) is used in functional genomics applications to decrease the expression of a target gene, which may yield a biological effect that suggests a function for the target gene. The siRNA design tool scans a target gene for candidate siRNA sequences that satisfy user-adjustable rules. Selected candidates are then screened to identify those siRNA sequences that are specific to the gene of interest.
Availability: A web tool is freely available for academic or commercial use at http://bioinfo.wistar.upenn.edu/siRNA/siRNA.htm. Source code is available upon request.
Supplementary information: See http://bioinfo.wistar.upenn.edu/siRNA/siRNA.htm for additional documentation and help pages.
VisCoSe: visualization and comparison of consensus sequences
Authors: Spitzer Michael , Fuellen Georg , Cullen Paul , Lorkowski Stefan 
Published: February 2004

Abstract
Summary: We introduce visualization and comparison of consensus sequences (VisCoSe) as a WWW service and a stand-alone command line Perl script for visualizing and comparing consensus sequences of protein and nucleotide sequences. VisCoSe is the only interface available that simultaneously calculates consensus sequences of multiple data sets and automatically compares these consensus sequences. Furthermore, VisCoSe allows visualization of chemical properties of amino acids.
Availability: http://viscose.ifg.uni-muenster.de/
HIVbase: a PC/Windows-based software offering storage and querying power for locally held HIV-1 genetic, experimental and clinical data
Authors: Lamers Susanna , Beason Scott , Dunlap Luke , Compton Robert , Salemi Marco 
Published: February 2004

Abstract
Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) research involves ongoing, repetitious sequencing of the HIV genome and the massive accumulation of associated investigational data. As a result, the storage of annotated DNA and/or protein sequences, as well as information retrieval, have become increasingly difficult tasks, with scientists extracting less information from their collected data than they should.
Objectives: Our objective was to design and develop a software package to aid researchers in the storage, analysis and exploration of their HIV-associated data.
Results: HIVbase contains familiar, easy-to-use interfaces and functionality for integrating many types of disparate data. The software contains tools that allow for the mass import of raw genetic data, eliminate repetitious sequence translations, have the ability to identify automatically and store HIV regions of interest from nucleic acid or protein sequences, allow for the export of data in commonly used analysis-ready formats, and for unique querying approaches.
Frequency Finder: a multi-source web application for collection of public allele frequencies of SNP markers
Authors: Nguyen Tu H. , Liu Chunyu , Gershon Elliot S. , McMahon Francis J. 
Published: February 2004

Abstract
Summary: Publicly available single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) allele frequencies are an important resource for the selection of genetic markers that may be most useful for gene mapping and association studies. Data mining these allele frequencies through disparate public databases and Websites is time consuming and can result in inconsistent findings. We have developed a web-based software tool, Frequency Finder, to acquire SNP allele frequencies from multiple public data sources and return a summarized result to the user. Our software optimizes and automates the search of candidate markers, decreasing the amount of time it would take to extract pertinent data manually. We have included several methods to output the data, including on-screen and as a compressed text file. We show that Frequency Finder accurately retrieves available frequency data from the available sources. Using this tool, we detect significant differences between Asian, African and Caucasian populations in the allele frequency spectra of 246 097 SNPs. While limited to public databases that provide web-based access to allele frequencies, Frequency Finder provides a single, user-friendly interface for retrieving allele frequencies for large batches of SNPs from multiple data sources.
Availability: Frequency Finder is available for public use at http://mapgenetics.nimh.nih.gov/frequencyfinder and at http://bluegenes.bsd.uchicago.edu/frequencyfinder
Developing a More Inclusive Social Identity: An Elementary School Intervention
Authors: Houlette Melissa A. , Gaertner Samuel L. , Johnson Kelly M. , Banker Brenda S. , Riek Blake M. , Dovidio John F. 
Published: February 2004

School integration, stimulated by the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education
decision, has influenced students' social and educational experiences. Drawing on practice and theory, we focus on strategies for improving intergroup relations. In a series of sessions over four‐weeks, 830 first and second grade children participated in Green Circle program activities designed to widen their circles of inclusion to include people who are different from themselves. Although the intervention did not influence children's biases in sharing or how happy they would be playing with others who were different from themselves based on race, sex, and weight, it did lead them to be more inclusive in selecting their most preferred playmate. Implications for friendship development and improvement in intergroup attitudes are considered.
He drew a circle that shut me out‐

Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.

But love and I had the wit to win‐

We drew a circle that took him in.                —Edwin Markham (1936, p. 67)
Truth, Reconciliation, and the Creation of a Human Rights Culture in South Africa
Authors: Gibson James L. 
Published: February 2004

One of the stated objectives of the truth and reconciliation process in South Africa was the creation of a political culture respectful of human rights. Thus, part of the “reconciliation” sought by the truth process was nurturing a set of cultural values among the populace that would make the gross human rights abuses that characterized the apartheid regime difficult if not impossible to reimplement in the future. Those creating the truth and reconciliation process assumed (hoped) that knowledge of the truth about the country's apartheid past would somehow contribute to the development of such a culture.The purpose of this article is to investigate whether a culture respectful of human rights has been created in South Africa. Based on a survey of roughly 3,700 South Africans (concluded early in 2001), I begin by conceptualizing what it means for cultures and individuals to be supportive of human rights. This conceptual approach then provides guidance for operationalizing support for human rights—and in particular support for universalism in the rule of law—within the survey context. Thus, the first objective of my article is descriptive: To what extent has a human rights culture been created in South Africa?But this article is about far more than describing the human rights culture of South Africa. The truth and reconciliation process hypothesizes that “truth” can contribute to this culture. But does it? With measures of the degree to which individual South Africans accept the truth about the country's apartheid past, this hypothesis can be rigorously tested. In addition, I explore a variety of additional explanations of support for human rights values, ranging from experiences under apartheid to attitudes toward South Africans of a different race. I conclude that whether a South African prefers a universalistic approach to the rule of law depends upon truth acceptance, interracial attitudes, and support for strong majoritarianism. Still, even with controls, racial differences in attitudes toward the rule of law persist in contemporary South Africa. Perhaps the most important contribution of this article is its evidence that the truth—participation in a country's collective memory—can affect the values that individual citizens hold.
Revisiting Informal Justice: Restorative Justice and Democratic Professionalism
Authors: Olson Susan M. , Dzur Albert W. 
Published: February 2004

Restorative justice is a form of informal justice growing rapidly among criminal justice practitioners. It decenters the focus of criminal justice from the offender breaking a law of the state to the harm caused the victim and community. Resolution is said to come from offenders taking responsibility and making amends for the harm done and from communities supporting the victim and providing offenders with opportunities and skills to reintegrate as contributing members.Restorative justice theory largely ignores the role of professionals in the criminal justice process, and yet professionals have played a dominant part in initiating many restorative justice programs. Several theoretical traditions recognize professionals as being important intermediaries between citizens and the state. The theory of democratic professionalism argues that professionals can play crucial roles in increasing and improving democratic participation in public affairs. This article examines two functioning restorative justice programs to flesh out what democratic professionalism might look like in operation—what tasks professionals perform and what citizen involvement means to the professionals. We argue that restorative justice cannot get along without professionals and that democratic professionalism may help restorative justice to avoid some of the problems associated with other approaches to informal justice by increasing true community participation but balancing it with concern for individuals' rights.
Does Age Matter? Judicial Decision Making in Age Discrimination Cases*
Authors: Manning Kenneth L. , Carroll Bruce A. , Carp Robert A. 
Published: February 2004

Objective. Drawing upon research that suggests that race and gender may shape judicial views about legal issues pertaining to these attributes, this study conducts an investigation of the influence of age on judicial decision making in age discrimination cases.Methods. This research analyzed 544 age bias rulings and 1,592 decisions in racial and gender discrimination cases handed down in the federal district courts from 1984 to 1995. Descriptive statistics incorporating cross‐product ratios were analyzed, and logit models were developed. Predicted probabilities were utilized to isolate differences in predicted decision‐making patterns for different age cohorts.Results. The youngest judges were least sympathetic to those who alleged that they were victims of age discrimination while the oldest judges were the most sympathetic to age discrimination claimants. This study also identified a generally more conservative decision‐making pattern in age cases compared to cases dealing with racial and gender discrimination.Conclusions. The data support the hypothesis that increased age corresponds with increased pro‐elderly decision making in age bias cases, though the effects appear at the age extremes among the very oldest and youngest judges. These results provide new evidence to support the social attribute model of judicial decision making, with a clear suggestion that some socioeconomic variables may affect judges' decision making differently over time.
The Prison Industry: Carceral Expansion and Employment in U.S. Counties, 1969–1994*
Authors: Hooks Gregory , Mosher Clayton , Rotolo Thomas , Lobao Linda 
Published: February 2004

Objectives.Despite the interest that social scientists have displayed in the rising rate of incarceration, little attention has been devoted to understanding its consequences for local areas. This is an important omission because prison construction has become a component of state and local economic development schemes. Indeed, there is a widespread belief that prison construction provides significant economic benefits to local areas.Methods.We analyze data on all existing and new prisons in the United States since 1960 and examine the impact of these prisons on the pace of growth (as measured by public, private, and total employment growth) in U.S. counties from 1969 to 1994. To our knowledge, our study is the first comprehensive and longitudinal assessment of the impact of prison construction on local areas.Results.We find no evidence that prison expansion has stimulated economic growth. In fact, we provide evidence that prison construction has impeded economic growth in rural counties that have been growing at a slow pace.Conclusion.Despite sharp ideological and intellectual differences, the critics and the advocates of the prison construction boom share the assumption that prisons can contribute to local growth, especially in hard‐pressed local areas. This belief flies in the face of mounting evidence that state and local initiatives rarely have a significant impact on growth; this belief is also contradicted by our analyses.
Attribution Style and Public Policy Attitudes Toward Gay Rights*
Authors: Wood Peter B. , Bartkowski John P. 
Published: February 2004

Objective.This study examines the influence of beliefs about the cause of homo‐sexuality on public policy attitudes concerning gay rights.Methods.Using data from the 1995 Oklahoma City Survey, we examine how beliefs about homosexuality as either a lifestyle choice or biological predisposition affect levels of support for gay rights.Results.Consistent with current debates over gay rights, our study reveals a strong positive association between biological attributions of homosexuality and support for gay rights. Opposition to gay rights is most pronounced among political conservatives, fundamentalist Protestants, persons with little or no favorable contact with gays, individuals who embrace negative stereotypes about gays, and persons with high scores on an index of homophobia.Conclusions.Etiological beliefs about homosexuality have a strong influence on public policy attitudes toward gay rights.
Adult Social Bonds and Use of Internet Pornography*
Authors: Stack Steven , Wasserman Ira , Kern Roger 
Published: February 2004

Objective. Sociological theories of deviant behavior have not been systematically applied to the problem of who uses and who does not use cyberpornography on the Internet. The present study contributes to the literature by providing the first systematic application of selected sociological theories of deviance to the problem of explaining use of cyberpornography. It tests a blended theoretical perspective, which includes measures from social control and opportunity theories of deviance, as well as measures of broader deviant lifestyles, as possible predictors of use of cyberporn. A key hypothesis is that persons with the strongest ties to conventional society will be less likely than others to use cyberporn.Methods. Complete data on 531 Internet users are taken from the General Social Surveys for 2000. Social bonds measures include religious, marital, and political ties. Measures of participation in sexual and drug‐related deviant lifestyles, and demographic controls are included.Results. The results of a logistic regression analysis found that among the strongest predictors of use of cyberporn were weak ties to religion and lack of a happy marriage. However, past sexual deviance (e.g., involvement in paid sex) was also a strong predictor of cyberporn use. Overall the model explained 40 percent of the variance in porn use on the Internet.Conclusion. Traditional theoretical perspectives on deviance are apparently applicable to this new form of deviant behavior.
Race/Ethnic Differences in Female Headship: Exploring the Assumptions of Assimilation Theory*
Authors: Wildsmith Elizabeth 
Published: February 2004

Objective. This article conducts a comparative analysis of temporal and generational patterns in Mexican‐American female headship compared to patterns for non‐Hispanic whites and non‐Hispanic blacks. These patterns are explored within two frameworks of assimilation, the more general assimilation perspective and the “segmented” assimilation perspective.Methods. Logistic regression analysis looking at female headship is conducted using the 1960–1990 IPUMS. Additional analyses use the 1995 CPS to look at intergenerational patterns of female headship, divorce, and nonmarital fertility among Mexican‐origin women relative to other groups of women.Results. Analysis using the IPUMS finds that U.S.‐born Mexican‐origin women have higher levels of female headship in every year compared to white women, and this difference has actually increased over time. Additionally, analysis using the 1995 CPS finds that while levels of female headship for second‐generation Mexican‐origin women are no higher, levels for third‐generation Mexican‐origin women far surpass those of white women. The high levels of female headship and the proportion of never married women with children in the household among third‐generation Mexican‐American women are startling and lend more support to a “segmented” assimilation framework.
State Parties in the 2000 Senate Elections*
Authors: Brox Brian J. 
Published: February 2004

Objective. This article examines state party activity in support of U.S. Senate candidates during the 2000 election. The literature on the service role of parties suggests that national parties will be active in support of candidates, while state parties will be inclined to provide mobilization services. However, state parties are also in a good position to provide campaign contributions and technical services usually supplied by national party organizations.Methods. Focusing on the 2000 elections, I use campaign finance data from the Federal Election Commission as well as original data derived from a survey of the state parties to investigate the relationship between state parties and U.S. Senate candidates.Results. The results indicate not only that state parties were remarkably active in support of U.S. Senate candidates, but also that Republican state parties appeared to better target their support to more deserving candidates than did Democratic state parties. Closer scrutiny, however, reveals that the Democrats, by using state party organizations as the conduit of coordinated expenditures, were more successful in providing resources to candidates who would win.Conclusions. Although much of the activity of state party organizations is explained by money transfers from national party organizations, it is the transfer of hard money that accounts for state party activity in U.S. Senate campaigns. This brings into question the impact of recent campaign finance reforms on the relationship between state parties and U.S. Senate candidates.
Competition and Wage Discrimination: The Effects of Interindustry Concentration and Import Penetration*
Authors: Agesa Jacqueline , Hamilton Darrick 
Published: February 2004

Objective. Economic theory suggests that competition reduces employers' latitude to engage in wage discrimination (Becker, 1957). This study investigates the impact of foreign and domestic competition on wage discrimination.Method. Utilizing the sample of males in U.S. manufacturing industries from the 1990 Public Use Micro Sample (PUMS), industry wage equations are estimated. In a second stage, the impact of domestic and foreign competition on racial wage disparity is assessed.Results. We find little evidence to support our hypothesis.Conclusions. Notwithstanding, the failure of conventional economic theory to satisfactorily explain racial wage disparity reiterates the need to incorporate alternative theories of discrimination into mainstream economic theory.
Social Identity Theory and Party Identification*
Authors: Greene Steven 
Published: February 2004

Objective.Given that the group aspect of party identification forms a central, yet largely unexplored element of American partisanship, social identity theory presents a compelling social‐psychological theory of group belonging through which to reinterpret the contemporary understanding of partisanship.Methods.Using a mail survey of 302 randomly selected Franklin County, Ohio residents, levels of social identification with the Democratic Party, the Republican Party, and political independents are measured using the Identification with a Psychological Group (IDPG) scale. Scores on the IDPG are used to predict attitudes toward parties and the consistency of partisan behavior.Results.Levels of partisan social identity proved to be significant predictors of political party ratings, ideology, and party activities, even when taking traditional measures of partisan strength into account.Conclusions.Social identity is a fundamental aspect of partisanship, which, when measured, can lead to superior prediction and understanding of related political attitudes and behaviors.
More Daughters in Child Care? Child Gender and the Use of Nonrelative Child Care Arrangements*
Authors: Hiedemann Bridget , Joesch Jutta M. , Rose Elaina 
Published: February 2004

Objectives. This article examines whether families with white mothers make different child care decisions for sons than for daughters before the children start school.Methods. We estimate logistic regressions of the use of nonrelative child care for the youngest child in the family six years old or younger with data from the 1990 National Child Care Survey.Results. We find that girls are significantly more likely than boys to be in regular, nonrelative care when they are between three and six years old.Conclusions. Recent evidence from the United States indicates that child gender influences various aspects of family dynamics. These differences tend to put boys at an advantage. Our findings add to this literature by showing that child care decisions are also related to child gender. Gender differences in the use of child care may reflect appropriate responses to children's developmental needs. However, they may contribute to gender differences in children's well‐being.
What Are the Determinants of Open‐Space Ballot Measures? An Extension of the Research*
Authors: Howell‐Moroney Michael 
Published: February 2004

Objective. This article comments on the findings of Romero and Liserio's “Saving Open Spaces.” Their primary claim is that open‐space ballots are not related in any way to actual land‐use patterns.Methods. First, I present a number of methodological problems with their approach and demonstrate a sample selection bias using their original data. Second, I present some alternate models using data from 350 municipalities in the greater Philadelphia area.Results. I demonstrate that the sample selection bias in Romero and Liserio's model is so acute that all their parameter estimates are jointly zero. With other data, I find that sprawl votes are related to land‐use patterns using a number of different measures.Conclusions. I conclude that open‐space votes are related to land‐use patterns and that this may be explained as a rational response to sprawl by community planning bureaucracies.
Community Mobilization and Credit: The Impact of Nonprofits and Social Capital on Community Reinvestment Act Lending*
Authors: Holyoke Thomas T. 
Published: February 2004

Objective.Recent trends in urban research emphasize the importance of local nonprofits and social capital in the revitalization of poor and minority neighborhoods. This article tests the idea that urban communities able to mobilize themselves by establishing development nonprofits and overcoming collective action problems will be better able to make use of urban‐development policies.Methods.Measures operationalizing nonprofit presence and social capital are used in an empirical test to see if they can, through the medium of the Community Reinvestment Act, increase the number of mortgage and business loans in Washington, D.C.Results.These variables show only weak effects on mortgage lending, but very strong results for small‐business lending in all types of communities.Conclusions.The results suggest that nonprofits and social capital may have only limited benefit in the revitalization of urban neighborhoods and researchers and practitioners should be careful when relying on them.