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Against the backdrop of increasingly complex urban systems, grassroot communities in cities are rolling out small-scale initiatives as a way to address contemporary urban problems. However, the initiatives are not always in line with the formal planning conducted by the government. This study aims to investigate the interaction between the government and grassroots actors under the context of self-governed grassroots initiatives by using the 'Marginal School Community' social network structure in Yogyakarta as an example case. Using social network analysis with 77 actors entailed in the community's activities, this study shows an alternative interaction between the government and the grassroots within an action planning process. The paper reflects on these examples and suggests an alternative way that cities may be planned and governed in the future, adopting a more grassroots-based planning approach based on collaboration, negotiation and mutuality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many police organisations employ and rely on public servants to complete specialised tasks with their organisations. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) regularly hires public servants known as Detachment Services Assistants (DSAs) to take on various support roles. As part of DSAs' many clerical and administrative responsibilities, these workers must often perform emotional labour across different job tasks, which in turn, can be a personal yet occupationally mandated source of stress and strain. In the current study, we draw from semi-structured interviews with DSAs (n = 54) to investigate the different situations in which DSAs undertake emotional labour, the various styles of emotional labour DSAs perform, and the negative toll emotional labour places on DSAs in their workplace. Our research aims to contribute to the broader emotional labour literature on policing and the niche police literature on public servants, a form of civilian staff, employed by the RCMP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social-emotional interventions (SEL) are purported to be beneficial toward all students, yet researchers call into question their effectiveness toward Black boys because of the limited SEL interventions that have been culturally adapted for them to account for their lived experiences (e.g. experiencing disparate discipline within schools). Within this review, we discuss the state of research on Black boys, provide an overview of SEL interventions, and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the current SEL intervention research base. Next, we emphasize the need for culturally relevant SEL interventions and how practitioners can make SEL interventions culturally relevant for Black boys using a universal Afrocentric framework. Finally, this article highlights recommendations for practitioners, policymakers, and researchers to improve the cultural adaptation of SEL interventions for Black boys to promote improved school outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On Wednesday 16 June 1954, a vast exposition of Swedish applied arts, manufacture, lifestyle, and industry opened at Sydney's largest department store, David Jones' Limited. Presenting Swedish design, food, fashion, merchandise, industry, cars, aeroplanes, machinery, and culture to Australian consumers Sweden at David Jones' transformed David Jones' three Sydney stores into temporary sites of cultural exchange. It ran concurrent with the North American travelling exhibition Design in Scandinavia and just weeks ahead of the Scandinavian dominated 10th Milan Triennial. What began life as a trade fair to sell more Swedish goods in Australia, transformed into a major exposition that rivalled international events. Inspired by Marshall Plan 'Buy European' retail fairs, Sweden at David Jones' was intended as a one-off event. Instead, it became a blueprint for David Jones' annual calendar of international expos that developed a new type of interlinked commercial and cultural diplomacy. This paper positions Sweden at David Jones' as a missing chapter in Australian design history during an era of increased interest in Swedish design and the extensive cultural diplomacy efforts of Sweden in the twentieth century. It reflects on chance and serendipity in archival research while considering the exposition's physical temporality and its enduring legacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this editorial we explore how the concept of the city region has evolved and what questions this raises for the role of urban futures, including visioning and foresight. The editorial and special issue highlight the importance of foresight techniques in city-region visioning, how power relations are shaped and transformed by these processes, and how important it is to link city-regional foresight with transitions theory and urban innovation, alongside the climate change and sustainability agendas. This paper also addresses the application of city-region visioning in the Global North/Global South, and what this means for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explains the limited presence of geography in New England higher education as a result of the structure of the region's higher education system. Blending the geography and history of education literatures, it identifies type of control (public vs. private), institution type, urban location, multi-campus university systems, and the weak position of geography in secondary schools and community colleges as key influences upon the existence of an undergraduate major in geography. The article also considers windows of opportunity when geography departments were commonly established and provides selected examples of institutions that closed geography departments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the decision-making processes involved in giving physiotherapy students responsibility on clinical placement and the impact on their developing professional autonomy. The qualitative study, using semi-structured interviews, involved physiotherapy students and clinical educators (CEs) from two higher education institutions, one in Australia, and the other in the United Kingdom (UK). Findings led to the development of a heuristic framework of 'graduated supervision,' a process of progressively less direct observation and monitoring of students as clinical proficiency improved. By focusing on the measured exposure of students to increasing complexity and inverse levels of supervision, the framework captures tacit practices, and consistent, yet varied facilitation strategies adopted across specialties, and evident in clinical education settings in both countries. The framework formalizes, for the first time, assumptions and expectations previously unacknowledged. Factors identified as affecting students' progress toward autonomy include the student/CE relationship, the development of mutual trust through ongoing dialogue, and the importance of formal discussions at the commencement of a clinical placement to establish learning goals, preferred supervision styles and learner responsibilities. Insights have significance for the CE community, and students who at times have to second-guess what is required of them and how they might excel on clinical placement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hypertension is the most prevalent chronic condition in China and is associated with an increased risk of comorbidity. This study aims to investigate health services use and expenditures among community-dwelling residents with hypertension comorbidity. Data is from a 7-month follow-up study of 503 community-dwelling residents aged ≥45 years in Jiangsu Province, China. These participants were stratified into three categories based on their disease status at baseline (no chronic condition, hypertension, hypertension with one or more comorbidities), and followed up monthly to gather information on their health services use and expenditures (including self-medication, outpatient and inpatient services). We used generalized estimating equations to estimate the association between disease status and health services use. 58.1% of individuals with hypertension had a comorbidity. Compared with individuals without any condition, the fully adjusted odds ratio (OR) for those with hypertension comorbidity was 2.18 (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.57–3.03) in overall health services use. Rural residents with hypertension comorbidity had a greater odds of health services use compared with their urban counterparts (age and sex-adjusted OR 4.21, 95% CI 2.56–6.93). The median monthly expenditure for individuals with hypertension comorbidity was 172 Chinese Yuan (CNY), which was much higher than those with no condition and those with hypertension only (90 and 91 CNY, respectively). Comorbidity in individuals with hypertension is highly prevalent and associated with elevated health services use and expenditures. These findings emphasize the importance of secondary prevention and integrated care for comorbidity in the population with hypertension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to use psychological measures of pre-schoolers who stutter and their parents to inform causal theory development and influence clinical practices. This was done using data from a substantive clinical cohort of children who received early stuttering treatment. The cohort (N = 427) comprised parents and their children who were treated with the Lidcombe Program, the Westmead Program, and the Oakville Program. The study incorporated demographic information, stuttering severity, and child and parent psychological measures prior to treatment. The cohort revealed nothing unusual about behavioural and emotional functioning, or the temperaments, of pre-school children that would influence treatment, be targeted during treatment, or influence causal theory development. However, a third of parents were experiencing moderate to high life stressors at the time of seeking treatment, and half the parents failed first-stage screening for Anankastic Personality Disorder. The present results are consistent with a number of previous reports that showed that the population of pre-schoolers who stutter have no unusual psychological profiles. Hence, these results suggest that the association between mental health and stuttering later in life is a consequence of the disorder rather than being a part of its cause. The finding of the life stress of parents who seek stuttering treatment for pre-school children has potential clinical importance and warrants further investigation. Further psychological research is required about parents of pre-school children who stutter, because half the parents in the cohort failed the screener for Anankastic Personality Disorder. This is of interest because a previous study associated screening failure for another personality disorder (Impulsive Personality Disorder) with treatment dropout for early childhood stuttering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper starts from the premise that regional planning as it is known is now defunct and something that we need to get used to. Identifying those disruptive elements that have undermined traditional forms of institutionalized regional planning, it is argued that contemporary planning debates are too obsessed with the institutional planning frame and have become distracted from the changing content of the real-world picture. The aim in this paper is to reassert the purpose and values of planning by rediscovering the content, conceptualize multiple and fluid forms of planning frames, and reposition the planner as an orchestrator and enabler of planning regional futures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Planning is facing powerful challenges – professionally, intellectually, practically – in ways arguably not seen before. In this editorial we examine whether we have witnessed the withering away of regional planning. Our argument is that planning remains integral to the future of regional studies, but not in the form it once took. We argue for new approaches to planning regional futures. More broadly, this editorial and the Planning Regional Futures issue is an intellectual call-to-arms to engage planners (and those who engage with planning) to critically explore what planning is, and should be, for in how we plan cities and regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To assess contributions of dietary and genetic factors to ethnic differences in AMD prevalence. Population-based analytical study. In the Blue Mountains Eye Study, Australia (European ancestry n = 2826) and Multi-Ethnic Cohort Study, Singapore (Asian ancestry, n = 1900), AMD was assessed from retinal photographs. Patterns of dietary composition and scores of the Alternative Healthy Eating Index were computed using food frequency questionnaire data. Genetic susceptibility to AMD was determined using either single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the complement factor H and age-related maculopathy susceptibility 2 genes, or combined odds-weighted genetic risk scores of 24 AMD-associated SNPs. Associations of AMD with ethnicity, diet, and genetics were assessed using logistic regression. Six potential mediators covering genetic, diet and lifestyle factors were assessed for their contributions to AMD risk difference between the two samples using mediation analyses. Age-standardized prevalence of any (early or late) AMD was higher in the European (16%) compared to Asian samples (9%, p <.01). Mean AMD-related genetic risk scores were also higher in European (33.3 ± 4.4) than Asian (Chinese) samples (31.7 ± 3.7, p <.001). In a model simultaneously adjusting for age, ethnicity, genetic susceptibility and Alternative Healthy Eating Index scores, only age and genetic susceptibility were significantly associated with AMD. Genetic risk scores contributed 19% of AMD risk difference between the two samples while intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids contributed 7.2%. Genetic susceptibility to AMD was higher in European compared to Chinese samples and explained more of the AMD risk difference between the two samples than the dietary factors investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genuine engagement about how best to achieve liveable urban futures should be part of planning's raison-d'etre but it has a chequered history of delivery. Exhibitions harnessing the communicative power of mixed media and linked to a progressive and responsive programme of focused discussion and debate remain relevant to community consultation and civic engagement. Terry Farrell's concept of the 'urban room' to involve citizens in engaging with the past, present, and future of towns and cities offers a contemporary refreshment of the approach propounded by Patrick Geddes from the early 1900s. The possibilities of creating novel and compelling opportunities for civic discourse in this guise are explored in this review article though the Newcastle City Futures pop-up exhibition and events held in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK in 2014. This event carries lessons for imagining how planners, developers, governments, and community groups may come together to critically and creatively forge future propositions for the urban condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Although extensively studied in children, the safety and tolerability of ketone supplementation in adults is unclear, particularly in the acute brain injury population. The purpose of this study was to examine the feasibility and safety of inducing ketosis using an enteric ketogenic formulation and determine its impact on intracranial and cerebral perfusion pressures and metabolic parameters. Methods: Prospective interventional Phase II trial of ventilated critically ill patients with acute brain injury administered a ketogenic feed over a 6 day period. Results: 20 patients were recruited, 5 females and 15 males, 3 with stroke, 2 with subarachnoid haemorrhage and 15 with traumatic brain injury. Feeds were well tolerated with 19 patients completing study. There was a significant increase in both plasma beta-hydroxybutyrate and acetoacetate from 0.24± 0.31 mmol/l and 0.19 ± 0.16 mmol/l to 0.61 ± 0.53 mmol/l (p =0.0005) and 0.52 ± 0.40 mmol/l (p<0.0001) respectively over the 6 day period. Total daily Ketocal® caloric intake was positively correlated with plasma beta-hydroxybutyrate concentrations (p=0.0011). There was no significant correlation between the cerebral hypertension and cerebral hypoperfusion indices and plasma ketone concentrations. In 95% of patients there were no clinically significant changes in acid/base status over the 6 days with pH remaining within normal range. Conclusion: In patients with acute brain injury, an enterally administered ketogenic formulation increased plasma ketone concentrations, was well tolerated, did not impact on cerebral hemodynamics and can be safely administered. Clinical trial registered at the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12616000332426) Abbreviations: BHB: betahydroxybutyrate; AcAc: acetoacetate; ABI: acute brain injury; TBI: traumatic brain injury; CSF: cerebrospinal fluid; SAH: subarachnoid injury; CVA: cerebrovascular accidents; ICP: intracranial pressure; CPP: cerebral perfusion pressure; ICU: intensive care unit; EVD: external ventricular device; CHI: cerebral hypoperfusion index; IHI: intracranial hypertension index; GCS: Glasgow Coma Scale [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how distributed and relational forms of place-based leadership can be facilitated in environments with constrained local governance capabilities. It is based on an in-depth case study of a university-hosted collaborative platform situated in a city/regional institutional landscape marked by limited local devolution and public sector austerity. The research contributes to a fuller understanding of place-based leadership by analyzing how actors can mobilize interpretive and network forms of power outside formal governance structures to encourage long-term thinking and broker innovative cross-organizational projects. Equally, however, it highlights their continuing dependence on legitimating forms of local institutional and resource authority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several treatment approaches are available for adults who stutter, including speech treatment, cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) treatment for anxiety, and a combination of both. It is useful to determine whether any differences exist between adults who stutter enrolled in different types of treatment. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare demographic, speech, and psychological characteristics of adults who stutter enrolled in speech, psychological, and combined treatment programs. Participants were 288 adults who stuttered (18–80 years) enrolled in one of three different treatment programs: Speech Treatment for stuttering (n = 134), Anxiety Treatment for anxiety about stuttering (n = 70), or Speech Treatment for Stuttering With or Without Anxiety Treatment (n = 84). Participants completed a range of demographic, speech, and psychological measures prior to the start of treatment. A significantly higher proportion of participants in the Anxiety Treatment group were in a personal relationship than the other treatment groups. The Anxiety Treatment group had higher average age than the other treatment groups. The Speech Treatment group also demonstrated significantly higher self-rated stuttering severity than the Anxiety Treatment group, even though there were no significant difference between groups for clinician-rated percentage of syllables stuttered. Although most characteristics of adults who stuttered did not vary by treatment type, the present findings suggest that adults who stutter enrolled in speech treatment perceived their stuttering as more severe, which may have prompted treatment seeking. Further research is needed regarding the supportive influence of personal relationship for those with the disorder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The successful conservation of our built heritage relies upon multi-scalar negotiation between a wide array of stakeholders and agents in the planning process. This negotiation reflects both the values that we ascribe to particular structures and landscapes, and choices about what to retain in response to social, commercial and aesthetic opportunities, preferences and aspirations. We are particularly interested in how redevelopment and regeneration processes often result in the removal of buildings from the recent past – Brutalist buildings from the 1960s, in particular – even though coalitions are built which seek their active protection and conservation. Using the case of Birmingham Central Library (demolished 2015–16) we explore how conservation of the most recent past challenges us – how can buildings of the recent past be deemed heritage, how can they be meaningfully conserved and how are different interests mediated? This paper seeks to uncover the conflicts inherent within the conservation of such buildings, drawing conclusions about the heritage-creation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A method has been developed and analytically validated for the analysis of purgeable mercury in caustic nuclear waste. Using multivariate optimization method, purge flow rate was determined to be highly correlated with increased response (p = 0.023). Total recovery of spiked purgeable mercury from deionized water was 99.4 ± 10.6% and 91.6 ± 14.9% from spiked high-activity tank waste samples. Calibration, by external calibration and standard addition calibration, maintained a mean accuracy of 101 ± 5% and 99.9 ± 1.7%, respectively. This method represents a decrease in sample handling and processing over currently standard methods and represents a more amenable method for purgeable mercury analysis in liquid nuclear waste. This validated method has been applied to liquid waste samples from high-activity waste tanks at Savannah River Site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The formal opportunity to learn geography in the United States is unevenly distributed across space, creating possible geography deserts. Data on the number of exams taken in Advanced Placement Human Geography (APHG) and bachelor's degrees earned in geography are mapped at the state and regional scales. Normalized rates are ranked and grouped into quintiles. For APHG exams, states in the southeastern region of the United States are in the uppermost quintiles while states in the northeastern region are in the lowermost quintiles. The pattern for bachelor's degrees in geography is somewhat the spatial inverse of that for APHG. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As part of a wider study into perceptions that different university stakeholders have of tutorials, we investigated the UK Open University model for tuition through a process of semi-structured interviews with a self-selecting set of STEM tutors. The aim of the study was to elucidate perceptions that tutors have of the role and purpose of tutorials, and their perceptions of student expectations of group tuition. Thematic analysis of interview transcripts using a grounded theory approach identified several key themes. These include perceptions of the tutor role in group tuition: facilitating academic learning and skills; and supporting the building of confidence, motivation, social interaction and collaborative group-work skills. Difficulties were identified in encouraging student interaction in online synchronous tuition. In addition, mismatches became apparent between tutors' perceptions of student expectations of tuition and their own preferred approaches, with suggestions that students expect a didactic rather than interactive experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is now a large body of work that seeks to understand the evolution of planning systems across the globe, particularly the adaptation of planning to/under varying forms of neoliberalism. Some of this research seeks to provide empirical insights into new state spaces and the actors that occupy them. Others have made theoretical explanation of the reform agenda their goal. In sum much of the literature now points to an academic understanding of government policies on planning as representative of a ‘new moment’, characterized by a post-political narrowing of debate on what the fundamental objectives of the activity should be. In this contribution, we find grounds to agree with aspects of this analysis that takes the post-political as an explanatory framework. However, using the passage of the UK Localism and Decentralization Bill into law as the Localism Act 2011, we argue that the process of enacting planning reform was accompanied by acts of manipulation (heresthetics) and decontestation that accord more closely to traditional and long-standing methods of political action motivated by ideology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Symptoms of mental health and substance use disorders are prevalent for individuals involved in the criminal justice system (CJS). The purpose of this study was to examine the association between psychosocial distress for CJS-involved men and women residing in sober living environments. Participants were residents of North Carolina Oxford Houses who indicated previous involvement in the criminal justice system (N = 353). With the Global Appraisal of Individual Needs-Short Screener (GAIN-SS), three types of psychosocial distress were operationally defined using the past-year symptom count on the subscales of (1) internalizing mental health disorders, (2) externalizing mental health disorders, and (3) substance use disorders. A multiple linear regression was conducted for each of these three psychological distress variables. Results of each linear regression analysis revealed gender and length of stay were significantly associated with increased symptom counts in both men and women. An interaction effect between gender and length of stay was also observed. That is, for each of three subscales, the simple slope tests revealed a significant negative association between length of residency at Oxford House and subscale scores for females and males, but the length of residency at Oxford House was more strongly related to the subscales scores for females. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A correction is presented to the article "Effects of liver transplantation on sexual function and quality of life" which appeared in the previous issue of the periodical.

How the humanities subjects are represented in primary schools in Wales has been influenced by curriculum developments including Curriculum Cymraeg, the Skills Framework and the Foundation Phase. A central tenet of Welsh Government policy has been to actively encourage schools to promote a sense of ‘Welshness’ through curriculum content, pedagogies and school policies. In addition, early years’ education has been extended to 5–7-year olds and at Key Stage 2 skills and competencies are priorities, with subject content providing the context for learning. In 2015, the Donaldson Review’s recommendations were fully implemented in the Government’s plans for a new 3–16 Curriculum for Wales to be fully implemented by 2021. Humanities became one of six Areas of Learning and Experience (AoLE) with the curriculum content to be developed by an all-Wales partnership team which includes the Pioneer Schools’ network. This article traces the post devolution build-up to this latest ‘radical change’. It suggests that for stakeholders developing the humanities curriculum the challenge will be considering how the key concepts of different ‘subject pedagogies’ are represented, while fulfilling the Government’s emphasis on early years’ pedagogy and its focus on a competency-led curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, there has been increased interest in examining alternative polymers for the conservation of archaeological artefacts, particularly waterlogged timbers, providing better, renewable, greener alternatives to poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG). The degradation of PEG consolidants in the timbers of the sixteenth century warshipMary Rosehas been examined and the rheological and thermal properties of PEG have been compared with its monomethyl and dimethyl ethers and several polysaccharide consolidants (chitosan, guar, and 2-hydroxyethyl cellulose) in order to evaluate their potential as alternative consolidants for the conservation of waterlogged wooden artefacts. Additionally, the effect of the polymers on the archaeological wood was characterised by thermogravimetric analysis and solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The results suggest that the future of conservation technologies lies with polysaccharide consolidant materials, which show enhanced compatibility with wooden artefacts with no detectable side effects while also being cheap, with extremely low toxicity, renewable, and sustainably resourced. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Recombinant DNA technology was invented in 1973. Within a few years, molecular biologists began developing practical applications and establishing private companies to exploit them commercially. In 1978, Harvard biologist Walter Gilbert, one of the leading figures in the field, joined the founding scientific advisory board of a Swiss biotech startup called Biogen. He later became the company’s CEO. His participation helped Biogen recruit top scientific talent in the United States and Europe and encouraged many of his professional colleagues to follow his example and go into business. In this way, Gilbert became a linchpin in the formation of the contemporary biotechnology industry. Because his adventures in business were shaped by circumstances unique to the late twentieth century, Gilbert’s case adds a distinctive point of reference to studies of academic entrepreneurship. It also points to internal contradictions and conceptual ambiguities in neo-institutional accounts of research privatization. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Acute brain injury (ABI) is a catastrophic event, leading to disruption of the normal cerebral metabolic pathways and a subsequent cerebral energy deficit. Ketones (beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) and acetoacetate) may represent an alternative metabolic substrate with the potential to improve cerebral energy supply and decrease injury. The purpose of this study was to evaluate baseline ketone concentrations in the ABI population. Thirty-eight patients with ABI were enrolled into the study and followed for up to 7 days. We collected arterial blood samples immediately after admission and daily to measure the levels of BHB and acetoacetate. Where possible, matching cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) specimens were also collected. During the study period, plasma BHB levels were increased initially but normalized by day 3 while acetoacetate levels remained within the normal range. The change in BHB was significant. There were 30 observations in 10 patients where BHB could be measured in both blood and CSF. When the data were averaged over patients there was a weak correlation between blood and CSF BHB (Spearman's ρ = 0.62, p = 0.054). Blood ketone concentrations remain low within the ABI population. An external source of ketones will be required to increase blood concentrations to clinically relevant levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peer observation of teaching is an established developmental tool in face-to-face settings. While there have been studies into peer observation as applied to asynchronous online teaching, less is known about its application to teaching online using synchronous communication systems. We describe a small-scale study of an online peer observation scheme with a group of associate lecturers in physical sciences at the UK Open University. This cohort of teaching staff was engaged in a series of peer-observed tutorials, with the aim of fostering their development through subsequent reflection and dialogue. The study was evaluated through the thematic analysis of subsequent structured conversations. Emergent themes lead us to consider the value of peer observation in the context of synchronous online tuition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Death anxiety is a basic fear underlying a range of psychological conditions, and has been found to increase avoidance in social anxiety. Given that attentional bias is a core feature of social anxiety, the aim of the present study was to examine the impact of mortality salience (MS) on attentional bias in social anxiety. Participants were 36 socially anxious and 37 non-socially anxious individuals, randomly allocated to a MS or control condition. An eye-tracking procedure assessed initial bias towards, and late-stage avoidance of, socially threatening facial expressions. As predicted, socially anxious participants in the MS condition demonstrated significantly more initial bias to social threat than non-socially anxious participants in the MS condition and socially anxious participants in the control condition. However, this effect was not found for late-stage avoidance of social threat. These findings suggest that reminders of death may heighten initial vigilance towards social threat. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The challenge of how to maintain or improve wastewater treatment performance without causing an excessive increase in energy or costs is increasingly focussed towards ammonia. On small sewage treatment works, solutions have historically been energy intensive: to divert waste to a larger plant, add a polishing step to the end of the process flow sheet or upgrade and replace upstream processes. Constructed wetlands (CWs) offer a low energy alternative to meet these challenges. This review explores oxygen transfer theory; nitrification performance of existing CW systems, and the key affecting factors to be considered when implementing the technology for tertiary treatment upgrades. Future perspectives include the use of artificial aeration and greater consideration of vertical sub-surface flow systems as they achieve the nitrification capacity in a smaller footprint than horizontal flow systems and, where suitable hydraulics permit, can be operated under very low energy demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Using Braithwaite's (1989) notions of crime, shame, and reintegration as theoretical underpinning, we identify factors associated with acceptance of a variety of offenders accused or convicted of various criminal behaviors among Christian church goers in a North Carolina county. Using a convenience sample method, surveys were administered to 365 church goers, with an effort to include a mixture of respondents that reflected the population of the county being sampled, in terms of race, gender, age, education level, and denominational affiliation. The survey included numerous vignettes, identifying crimes ranging in seriousness from underage drinking to murder, and from a variety of offenders including teenagers, young adults, middle aged women and middle aged men. Bivariate and multivariate techniques were employed to analyze the data. Acceptance was greatest for young adult and teenaged offenders for a variety of minor offenses, but also for young men that had been convicted of burglary and released into the community. Respondents were least accepting of sex offenders and people that had stolen money from the church. Race was one of the key variables, with African Americans being consistently most accepting of almost all categories of offense and offender. Acceptance was also associated with denomination, with Unitarian Universalists being the most accepting, and Roman Catholics being the least accepting. Acceptance was also positively associated with age and amount of formal education. Our results may reinforce Chiricos, Welch, & Gertz's (2004) ideas of racial typification of crime, and that crime and the “criminal” label revolve to a great degree around race. Concerns of safety and liability of church members continue to plague church ministers and staff. The church as an agent of reintegration and acceptance of offenders should continue to receive attention from scholars, the public and policy makers. Churches may serve as vehicles for effecting restorative justice programs. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We surveyed 118 criminal justice interns, asking them to assess the importance of various practical skills, professional skills, academic content knowledge, and knowledge of various current issues. We compared the results with those of 202 criminal justice practitioners. Student interns viewed almost every skill and knowledge area as important. Practitioners placed the greatest value on verbal communication skills, good work ethic, good work habits, and initiative. Regarding content knowledge, practitioners assigned the greatest importance to applied ethics. Racial issues as they apply to criminal justice and gender issues were viewed as most important in the current issues category. We examined the differences according to race, gender, and type of agency. We found significant differences between interns and practitioners in terms of the skills and knowledge deemed important, and significant differences between agency types. Significant differences existed based on racial and ethnic identity; differences based on gender were not significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During discussion of national identity, stereotypical characteristics inevitably emerge. In applied arts and design, the character or appearance of objects is commonly understood to express certain notions of national identity, yet this concept of a national “style” is inherently problematic. The Nordic region is arguably one of the most oft-cited exponents of national and regional design identity, or style, by way of the mid-twentieth-century marketing of Swedish and Scandinavian design. Stylistic stereotypes abound in mid-twentieth-century discourses on both Swedish and Scandinavian design and, indeed, ideas of Swedishness and Scandinavianness became somewhat homogenous and apparently resilient to divergent, non-Scandinavian influences. This paper discusses the construction of the narrative of modern Swedish Design and Scandinavian Design identity by way of an examination of divergent influences in the work of the Swedish artist and designer Viktor Emmanuel (Vicke) Lindstrand (1904–1983). The aim is to readdress Lindstrand's position in twentieth-century design history by problematising the historically unbalanced reading of his work as an artist and designer, constrained as it was by the construction of national and regional design identities and their mediation in discourse [see also the essay by Mark Ian Jones, “Vicke Lindstrand after Orrefors – In the Shadow of Streamlined Perfection”, in Ann-Christine Fogelberg (ed.),DESIGN: Vicke Lindstrand (1904–1983) Glas, keramik, textil, måleri och skulptur, Uppsala, 2013, pp. 4–23; Mark Ian Jones,On the Periphery. An Examination of Mid-twentieth Swedish Design and the Reception of Vicke Lindstrand, Sydney, 2011]. My position is that of a non-Swede, an outsider with a different vantage point, examining English language discourse of Swedish origin that was, in turn, intended for outsiders. As such, this paper considers how key mid-twentieth-century English language discourses and rhetoric, manifest in exhibitions and texts, represented Swedish and later Scandinavian design. Lindstrand is positioned as an exemplar and his work is utilised to illustrate and underscore the arguments proposed by this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leading financial market participants increasingly recognise that issues associated with climate change present significant - if not unparalleled - financial risks. Regulatory, technological and social responses present particular issues for investment strategy, asset valuation, risk assessment and disclosure by institutional investors. However, governance literature has historically characterised climate change as a non-financial issue, at least over mainstream investment horizons. Accordingly, there has been little academic analysis of whether trustee directors are compelled, rather than permitted, to have regard to climate change risks. This paper seeks to advance the literature by examining the obligations of pension (or ‘superannuation’) fund trustee directors in Australia. The analysis focuses on the obligation to apply due care, skill and diligence under section 52A of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (Cth) (SIS Act). It concludes that a passive or inactive governance of climate change portfolio risks is unlikely to satisfy their duties: whether the inactivity emanates from climate change denial, honest ignorance or unreflective assumption, strategic paralysis due to impact uncertainty, or a default to a base set by regulators or investor peers. Considered decisions to prevail with ‘investment as usual’ may also fail to satisfy the duty if they are based on outdated methodologies and assumptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A more informed understanding of information about human sensory perception of materials is playing an increasingly important role in the selection and combination of materials within manufactured products. An initial perception of a product may be based on sensory properties such as colour, texture, sound, smell, and taste. Designers use textures within most of their design practices and understand that texture and texture combination can have a strong visual and tactile impact. The visual aesthetics of a particular material and the surface texture information are signalled through visual and tactile feedback. This contributes to how the user perceives the ‘material representation’ (which is defined as: the perceived images, properties, meanings, and values of a material in the human–product interface under a specific set of environmental conditions). Prior scholarship is limited with regard to information about the sensory and aesthetic characteristics of materials. Hence previous work reported by the authors of this paper has focused mainly on material texture through visual and tactile feedback. By carrying out controlled experimental research on texture, using specially prepared material samples, a dimension–lexicon system was used to subjectively describe a material texture by touch. Slight differences in the descriptive lexicons used were analysed in terms of gender, material surface finish, sensory conditions, and control groups. Further research revealed correlations between various subjective responses within the texture perception dimensions. In parallel, through experimental testing, the quantitative relationships between subjective response to texture and the objective physical parameters of materials were also reported. An understanding of these correlations assisted in the selection of better-matching material texture combinations. In this work the application of previous research results in design practice has been achieved as a result of collaboration with a leading UK manufacturer of hairdryers. Contextual research on material sensory perception and its influence on the whole product has been undertaken. This paper introduces the research methodology, the research results, and discussion from this research. Five typical hairdryers of the same brand varied in materials and textures were selected as product samples to be operated and evaluated by 25 participants, under controlled visual–touch conditions, simulating a typical operating process for the product. The contents of evaluation covered the sensory, functional, emotional, and associative responses to the whole product but with focus on the handle for each hairdryer. The relationship between these responses is discussed, the influencing factors for a good handle (e.g. comfort) are analysed, and suitable materials/textures are suggested. The results not only provide recommendations for further improvement and development of the products for our collaborative company, but also give insights on materials/texture selection for a wider range of consumer products where handle grip and perceived comfort and control are important factors for creating a positive user experience. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Most attention in British electoral studies has been paid to the pattern of voting for parties, with relatively little to that for individual candidates. In intra-party elections, however, candidates may perform better in some areas than others, illustrating V. O. Key's well-known “friends and neighbours” effect. This paper explores whether that was so at the election for the leader of the UK Labour party in 2010, expecting each of the five candidates to perform better in their own constituency and its environs and also with those constituency parties whose MPs supported their candidature. The results are in line with the expectations, especially for one of the candidates who ran an explicitly geographical campaign. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Purpose: The Lidcombe Program is a behavioural treatment for stuttering in children younger than 6 years that is supported by evidence of efficacy and effectiveness. The treatment incorporates parent verbal contingencies for stutter-free speech and for stuttering. However, the contribution of those contingencies to reductions in stuttering in the program is unclear. Method: Thirty-four parent–child dyads were randomized to two treatment groups. The control group received standard Lidcombe Program and the experimental group received Lidcombe Program without instruction to parents to use the verbal contingency request for self-correction. Treatment responsiveness was measured as time to 50% stuttering severity reduction. Result: No differences were found between groups on primary outcome measures of the number of weeks and clinic visits to 50% reduction in stuttering severity. Conclusion: This clinical experiment challenges the assumption that the verbal contingency request for self-correction contributes to treatment efficacy. Results suggest the need for further research to explore this issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective:Clinical studies indicate increased risk for depression and anxiety among tinnitus patients. However population data are scarce, and no studies have controlled for neuroticism. We examined associations between tinnitus and symptoms of depression and anxiety in a large UK population, controlling for neuroticism, to explore whether neuroticism, as previously reported, fully explains the association between symptoms of depression and anxiety, and tinnitus.Design:We used the UK Biobank resource.Study sample:171 728 participants answered hearing questions.Results:Using generalized linear modelling, we examined associations between tinnitus (mild to severe) and symptoms of depression and anxiety. Controlling for neuroticism, patients with severe tinnitus were at increased risk of depression (odds ratio (OR) = 1.27) and anxiety (OR = 1.11) symptoms, compared to those without tinnitus.Conclusions:Although it is not possible to determine whether tinnitus is a predisposing factor to depression, these results suggest an association. We suggest further exploration to determine the clinical significance of this association. Early psychosocial intervention aimed at reducing anxiety and depression in patients at increased risk might influence the extent to which tinnitus is experienced as troubling, and therefore psychological distress associated with it. Likewise, with tinnitus patients, assessment for anxiety/depression should be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to reveal the unsteady features of gas–solid flow, the pressure fluctuations were measured at different locations along the length of the pipeline while conveying powders through the pipeline. Power spectral density (PSD) functions were obtained for the analysis of the pressure fluctuation. Two types of powders (fly ash and alumina) were used in this analysis. The PSD analysis was conducted by taking into account different aspects such as flow conditions (dilute or dense), location of transmitter (top and bottom transmitters), location of transmitter along the length of the pipeline (three different locations), material property (fly ash or alumina), etc. Analysis of signals from top and bottom transmitters shows that it is not possible to identify the flow mode at upper and lower portions of pipeline. The magnitude of power is found to be higher for alumina as compared to fly ash. PSD parametric analysis reveals that frequency bandwidth and average power decreases exponentially with increase in solid loading ratio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the issues surrounding financial compensation of criminal justice student interns. This question has been the subject of inquiry for several years and was brought to the forefront of discussion in the legal and academic community as a result of the June 2013 US District Court ruling in what has become known as theBlack Swancase, in which Judge William Pauley ruled that former student interns who had worked for no pay were entitled to compensation under the Fair Labor Standards Act. This paper examines the legal, educational and social questions that have arisen as a result of theBlack Swancase and other similar internship lawsuits. Suggestions for criminal justice academic programs and for internship agencies that may reduce the likelihood of liability are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Psychoacoustic measures of tinnitus, in particular dominant tinnitus pitch and its relationship to the shape of the audiogram, are important in determining and verifying pathophysiological mechanisms of the condition. Our previous study postulated that this relationship might vary between different groups of people with tinnitus. For a small subset of participants with narrow tinnitus bandwidth, pitch was associated with the audiometric edge, consistent with the tonotopic reorganization theory. The current study objective was to establish this relationship in an independent sample. Design: This was a retrospective design using data from five studies conducted between 2008 and 2013. Study sample: From a cohort of 380 participants, a subgroup group of 129 with narrow tinnitus bandwidth were selected. Results: Tinnitus pitch generally fell within the area of hearing loss. There was a statistically significant correlation between dominant tinnitus pitch and edge frequency; higher edge frequency being associated with higher dominant tinnitus pitch. However, similar to our previous study, for the majority of participants pitch was more than an octave above the edge frequency. Conclusions: The findings did not support our prediction and are therefore not consistent with the reorganization theory postulating tinnitus pitch to correspond to the audiometric edge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses Peter Hall's contributions to regional studies, drawing on interviews recently conducted with him. Peter trained as a geographer at St Catharine's College, Cambridge. It discusses Peter's experience with the practice of urban and regional planning that was developed as systems theory and recourse to forecasting with large-scale data came to the fore in both regional and structure plan preparation.

This study identifies the critical factors that predict quality management program success using the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) Criteria for Performance Excellence framework as a measurement proxy. Success is measured based on MBNQA applicant scores that qualify for award recipient consideration. Use of the MBNQA system as a proxy for success is supported by prior research. This study performs longitudinal and cross-sectional data mining analyses using ANOVA, multiple regression analysis, discriminant analysis, and decision tree analysis to compare 1,098 independent review process cases and 486 consensus review process cases drawn from the MBNQA item-level applicant scoring data from 1991 to 2006. The data are drawn from the MBNQA item-level blinded applicant scoring data released in 2011 by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The analyses use an MBNQA "award" threshold score of 608 points that is stable for the 1991 through 2006 reporting period. This score is the approximate lowest winning score of the 66 award recipients for the reporting period, and is a function of the component scores that are being modeled. This study contributes to the quality management literature by empirically identifying the factors that matter the most when predicting quality management program success as measured by qualifying for an MBNQA award. The author found that MBNQA Category 4 (Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management) and Category 1 (Leadership) MBNQA criteria (factors) are the only contributing factors--none of the other MBNQA factors matter. This finding suggests that quality management practitioners should consider focusing on leadership development and informatics-related interventions as a strategy for improving organizational performance and achieving MBNQA award status as measured by MBNQA criteria and financial outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Verification technologies based upon electromagnetics and acoustics could potentially play an important role in fulfilling the challenging requirements of future verification regimes. For example, researchers at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have demonstrated that low frequency EM signatures of sealed metallic containers can be used to rapidly confirm the presence of specific components on a “yes/no” basis without revealing classified information. PNNL researchers have also used ultrasonic measurements to obtain images of material microstructures which may be used as templates or unique identifiers of treaty accountable items (TAIs). Such alternative technologies are suitable for application in various stages of weapons dismantlement and often reduce or eliminate classified data collection because of the physical limitations of the method. In such cases the need for an information barrier to prevent access to classified data is potentially eliminated, thus simplifying verification scenarios. As a result, these types of technologies may complement traditional radiation-based verification methods for arms control. This article presents an overview of several alternative verification technologies that are suitable for supporting a future, broader and more intrusive arms control regime that spans the nuclear weapons dismantlement lifecycle. The general capabilities and limitations of each verification modality are discussed and example technologies are presented. These technologies are relevant throughout a potential warhead monitoring regime, from entry into chain of custody (i.e., establishing confidence in the authenticity and integrity of the warhead) to dismantlement and final material disposition (i.e., maintaining confidence that chain of custody has not been broken). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]