1,721,756 research outputs found
Parholaspulus ventricosus Yin, Cheng & Chang 1964
No full text152. Parholaspulus ventricosus Yin, Cheng & Chang, 1964 Parholaspulus ventricosus Yin, Cheng & Chang, 1964: 321. Type locality and habitat: China, Kirin Province, Hui-Nan, on rodent, Myospalax psilurus. Type depository: Not stated.Published as part of Quintero-Gutiérrez, Edwin Javier & Halliday, Bruce, 2021, Review of the mite family Parholaspididae Evans, 1956 (Acari: Mesostigmata), pp. 401-459 in Zootaxa 5005 (4) on page 436, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5005.4.1, http://zenodo.org/record/514192
Book review: This is what democracy looked like: a visual history of the printed ballot by Alicia Yin Cheng
No full textIn This is What Democracy Looked Like: A Visual History of the Printed Ballot, Alicia Yin Cheng provides a concise yet detailed look at the history of the printed electoral ballot in the United States, locating the printed ballot in the development of voting and enfranchisement and offering dozens of visual examples of past electoral ballots drawn from across US history. This timely and relevant work is a worthwhile read and would make an excellent reference book for the shelves of academic and non-academic readers interested in democracy and politics, writes Chris Stafford. This is What Democracy Looked Like: A Visual History of the Printed Ballot. Alicia Yin Cheng. Princeton Architectural Press. 2020
Book review: This is what democracy looked like: a visual history of the printed ballot by Alicia Yin Cheng
No full textIn This is What Democracy Looked Like: A Visual History of the Printed Ballot, Alicia Yin Cheng provides a concise yet detailed look at the history of the printed electoral ballot in the United States, locating the printed ballot in the development of voting and enfranchisement and offering dozens of visual examples of past electoral ballots drawn from across US history. This timely and relevant work is a worthwhile read and would make an excellent reference book for the shelves of academic and non-academic readers interested in democracy and politics, writes Chris Stafford
Proposal of new ground-motion prediction equations for elastic input energy spectra
No full textIn performance-based seismic design procedures Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) and pseudo-Spectral acceleration (Sa) are commonly used to predict the response of structures to earthquake. Recently, research has been carried out to evaluate the predictive capability of these standard Intensity Measures (IMs) with respect to different types of structures and Engineering Demand Parameter (EDP) commonly used to measure damage. Efforts have been also spent to propose alternative IMs that are able to improve the results of the response predictions. However, most of these IMs are not usually employed in probabilistic seismic demand analyses because of the lack of reliable Ground Motion Prediction Equations (GMPEs). In order to define seismic hazard and thus to calculate demand hazard curves it is essential, in fact, to establish a GMPE for the earthquake intensity. In the light of this need, new GMPEs are proposed here for the elastic input energy spectra, energy-based intensity measures that have been shown to be good predictors of both structural and non-structural damage for many types of structures. The proposed GMPEs are developed using mixed-effects models by empirical regressions on a large number of strong-motions selected from the NGA database. Parametric analyses are carried out to show the effect of some properties variation, such as fault mechanism, type of soil, earthquake magnitude and distance, on the considered IMs. Results of comparisons between the proposed GMPEs and other from the literature are finally shown
Health effects of night-shift work among manufacturing workers / Lim Yin Cheng
Full text linkOccupational factors particularly night-shift work is attracting growing interest as a
possible determinant of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and health-related quality of life
(HRQoL). This thesis comprises two parts. The first part addressed study objectives 1
through 4; to determine the association between night-shift work and MetS, and
between night-shift work and HRQoL, and further assess whether sleep quality was a
mediating factor in these associations. The second part of the thesis addressed objective
5; to determine changes in the level of morning urinary 6-sulphatoxymelatonin after
consecutive days of night-shift work, as a measure of circadian adaptation. To achieve
objectives 1 to 4, a cross-sectional study was conducted among Malaysian
manufacturing workers, aged 40-65 years old. Participants completed a selfadministered questionnaire on socio-demography, lifestyle, and family history, and the
Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and HRQoL (Short Form-12 version 2 [SF12v2]) questionnaires. Waist circumference, blood pressure, fasting blood sugar,
triglyceride and high-density lipoprotein levels were measured. Baron and Kenny’s
method, Sobel’s test and multiple mediation model were used to determine whether
PSQI global score or its components mediated the association between night-shift work
and MetS, and between night-shift work and HRQoL. Of the 494 participants, 177
(36%) worked night shift and 51% were males. Prevalence of MetS was 37%. Nightshift work was found to be independently associated with a two-fold increase in risk of
MetS (adjusted odds ratio: 1.92, 95% confidence interval: 1.24 to 2.97). However, the
association between night-shift work and MetS did not appear to be modified by sex.
Night-shift workers also reported significantly poorer sleep quality, longer sleep
iv
latency, shorter sleep duration, sleep disturbances, and daytime dysfunction. Robust
mediation analysis nonetheless showed that neither PSQI global score nor its
components mediated the association between night-shift work and MetS. On the other
hand, Baron and Kenny’s method and Sobel’s test showed that PSQI global score was a
significant mediator of the association between night-shift work and HRQoL.
Bootstrapping showed a significant indirect effect of night-shift work through
“subjective sleep quality” and “sleep disturbances” on physical health and through
“sleep latency” and “daytime dysfunction” on mental health. To achieve objective 5,
repeated measures of urinary 6-sulphatoxymelatonin on the morning before night-shift
work and after first, third and fifth night-shift work was undertaken in 29 male, Malay,
day-night-shift workers. The median age of participants was 29 years old. The highest
level of urinary 6-sulphatoxymelatonin was at time point 1, followed by a significant
reduction from time point 1 to time point 2, suggesting melatonin suppression due to
light-at-night. Subsequently, there was a progressive increase of urinary 6-
sulphatoxymelatonin from time point 2 to 4. This appears to suggest that workers were
not able to achieve circadiam adaptation to night-shift work even after five days. In
conclusion, early screening and management of MetS and the development of
programmes to improve sleep quality should be carried out for night-shift workers.
Findings from the second part of the study could be useful as a reference, in developing
strategies to enhance circadian adaptation to night-shift work
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
An exploratory study on written corrective feedback in the use of conjunctions among Malaysian ESL learners / Evon Lee Yin Cheng
Full text linkThis study explored the extent of influence of metalinguistic corrective feedback on Malaysian ESL learners’ appropriate and inappropriate use of conjunctions and investigated the learners’ perceptions on the use of metalinguistic corrective on conjunctions use in writing practice. 30 students were recruited as samples in this mixed-method study and data were collected from three different sources: students’ essays, questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. This study obtained 90 writing assignments in the form of three essays from 30 students to explore the extent of influence of metalinguistic corrective feedback on the learners’ appropriate and inappropriate use of conjunctions. Survey questionnaire were gathered from the 30 students and subsequently six students (two high proficiency, two intermediate proficiency, and two low proficiency) were interviewed to investigate the learners’ perceptions on the use of metalinguistic corrective on conjunctions use in writing practice. The appropriate and inappropriate use of conjunctions for each category: additive conjunctions, causal conjunctions, temporal conjunctions, and adversative conjunctions were counted for three writing assignments (expository essay, cause and effect essay, and problem-solution essay). The results showed that additive conjunction was most frequently used by the learners whereas adversative conjunction was least frequently used. In addition, the results also displayed positive influence of metalinguistic corrective feedback on the ESL learners’ use of conjunctions as the percentage of appropriate use shows positive increasing trend and the percentage of inappropriate use gradually decreased for all four categories of conjunctions for each subsequent writing task. Based on the response from the survey questionnaire, the findings generally revealed positive perceptions by the ESL learners on metalinguistic corrective feedback in three main aspects: the helpfulness of coded metalinguistic corrective feedback, their feelings receiving metalinguistic corrective feedback in their writing, and their preferences on receiving feedback. Last but not least, the interview also discovered the learners’ positive perceptions on the efficacy of metalinguistic corrective feedback focusing on the feedback as mediator tool, a trigger for noticing, and a favourable correction aid for conjunctions use in writing in this study
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
- …
