Zeitschriftenartikel zum Thema „Small College Consortium“

To transform undergraduate biology education, faculty need to provide opportunities for students to engage in the process of science. The rise of research approaches using next-generation (NextGen) sequencing has been impressive, but incorporation of such approaches into the undergraduate curriculum remains a major challenge. In this paper, we report proceedings of a National Science Foundation–funded workshop held July 11–14, 2011, at Juniata College. The purpose of the workshop was to develop a regional research coordination network for undergraduate biology education (RCN/UBE). The network is collaborating with a genome-sequencing core facility located at Pennsylvania State University (University Park) to enable undergraduate students and faculty at small colleges to access state-of-the-art sequencing technology. We aim to create a database of references, protocols, and raw data related to NextGen sequencing, and to find innovative ways to reduce costs related to sequencing and bioinformatics analysis. It was agreed that our regional network for NextGen sequencing could operate more effectively if it were partnered with the Genome Consortium for Active Teaching (GCAT) as a new arm of that consortium, entitled GCAT-SEEK(quence). This step would also permit the approach to be replicated elsewhere.

Alternative hullforms such as multihulls may allow small vessels to deliver levels of performance normally associated with a far larger and more costly monohull vessel. This article describes a research program on alternative hullforms being undertaken by a consortium of six universities and academic institutions. As well as reviewing the current research program, this article discusses in detail the contribution being made by University College London (UCL): tools for undertaking the comparison and exploration of the monohull, trimaran, and Trimaran Small Waterplane Area Center Hull (TriSWACH) alternatives. These tools combine the modeling and analysis capabilities of an existing naval architecture design package with a varied range of search and optimization techniques to enable the exploration of alternative ship design solutions. This article presents the initial results obtained from tools that are currently under development at UCL. Such tools can be applied to identify and explore key topics related to the trimaran and TriSWACH hullforms when compared with a baseline mono hull configuration. The trimaran hullform has significant potential for small fast combatants as demonstrated by the U.S. Navy's LCS program. The TriSWACH hullform (with a small waterplane area center hull stabilized by two outriggers) is of interest because it offers the potential for improved seakeeping performance.

Objectives – This study examines what factors are considered by college and university libraries in Indiana when making the decision to cancel subscriptions to print journals when an electronic equivalent is available. The study also looks at who the primary decision makers are in this regard. Libraries at public and private institutions of varying sizes were included in the study. Methods – An online survey was sent to seventy-three libraries in the consortium, Academic Libraries of Indiana. Structured interviews with administrators at nine libraries were also conducted. Results – Academic libraries in Indiana use subscription cost, redundancy of formats, student preference, budget reductions and usage as the primary factors in canceling print journal subscriptions in favor of their electronic counterparts. There is also a preference for the electronic format for new subscriptions even when a print version is also available. Conclusions – The study indicates that subscription cost is the most important consideration in the journal cancelation process with other factors also having an effect on the preference of libraries for electronic versions of journals. The study also shows that libraries at public and private colleges and universities are at different stages of moving away from print to an online-only journal format. At the same time, there is consensus that a small collection of print titles will still be needed. The primary decision-makers are librarians, faculty, and library administrators.

Background Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO2)—oxygen at pressures higher than atmospheric—is approved for 14 indications by the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society. HBO2’s main effect is to increase oxygen content in plasma and body tissues, which can counteract hypoxia or ischemia. Laboratory studies show that HBO2 has effects beyond relieving hypoxia (eg, promoting angiogenesis in irradiated tissue, anti-inflammatory effects, radiosensitization of tumors, hypoxia preconditioning, and fungal growth inhibition) and has potential to treat conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease and pyoderma gangrenosum. Lack of consistently collected outcome data on a large cohort of individuals receiving HBO2 therapy limits its use for both established and new indications. A course of therapy often involves 30-40 visits to a hyperbaric chamber, so the number of patients seen at any given center is constrained by chamber capacity. As a result, published HBO2 outcome data tend to be from small case series because few patients with a particular condition are treated at a given center. To solve this problem, a registry that collects and pools data systematically from multiple institutions has been established. Objective The aim of this study is to collect consistent outcome data across multiple hyperbaric centers to assess treatment effectiveness and establish a research consortium. Methods A consortium of hyperbaric centers who have agreed to collect consistent outcome data on all patients seen has been assembled. Data are collected at each participating center using Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap), a web-based, data collection system used frequently for research. Standard outcome measures have been defined for each condition, which are programmed into the REDCap data collection templates. Governance is through a consortium agreement that defines data security, data sharing, publications, liability, and other issues. Centers obtain Institutional Review Board (IRB) and ethics approval to participate, either from their own institutions or by relying on the IRB at the coordinating center at Dartmouth College. Dissemination will occur through a yearly report and by publications based on the data in the registry. Results Early results from some common indications show significant pretreatment to posttreatment changes. Additional indications and outcome measures are being added using the procedures outlined in the consortium agreement. Conclusions The registry collects consistent outcome information for a therapy that needs further study and a stronger evidence base. It also overcomes the challenge of collecting data from an adequate number of patients for both established and emerging indications by combining data collection from multiple centers. The data entry requirements should be within the capabilities of existing staff at any given hyperbaric center. By using REDCap, the registry can be expanded to include detailed information on particular indications and long-term follow-up on selected patients without significantly increasing the basic data entry requirements. Through the registry, a network of enrolled hyperbaric centers has been established that provides the basis for a clinical trial network. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) DERR1-10.2196/18857

A Review of: Galoozis, E. (2019). Affective aspects of instruction librarians’ decisions to adopt new teaching practices: Laying the groundwork for incremental change. College & Research Libraries, 80(7), 1036–1050. https://doi.org/10.5860/crl.80.7.1036 Abstract Objective – To investigate the correlation between emotional and affective labour and instruction librarians’ willingness to adopt and implement novel teaching and educational practices. Design – Semi-structured interview, grounded theory. Setting – Academic libraries in the Greater Western Library Alliance consortium. Subjects – 12 information literacy librarians from the Greater Western Library Alliance consortium of 38 research libraries from the US. Methods – In 2016, the author shared a call for study participants in the Greater Western Library Alliance (GWLA) consortium, selected a convenience sample of 12 information literacy instruction (ILI) librarians, and conducted a structured interview over Adobe Connect, a virtual video-interviewing tool. Interview transcripts underwent initial thematic coding using a grounded theory approach. Additionally, the author used Walker and Symons’ theories of motivation to code interview responses related to emotional and affective labour. Main Results – The author identified three thematic categories in the interview transcripts: barriers and influences for adopting new teaching practices, and practices implemented by ILI librarians. The author mapped these response themes to Walker and Symons’ (1997) conditions of human motivation: autonomy, competency, feedback, affirmation, and setting meaningful goals. Some major barriers to adopting new teaching practices are burnout and emotional exhaustion due to understaffing, time demands, the sheer quantity of instruction sessions, and the lack of post-instruction feedback to reinforce pedagogical decisions. A sense of competency, autonomy, and support when designing library instruction sessions encourages librarians to adopt new teaching practices. The author explored what practices ILI librarians applied to implement new teaching practices. Having plenty of time to prepare prior to an instruction session encourages ILI librarians to build new teaching practices into sessions. The respondents noted that building relationships with faculty, students, and library colleagues enables them to receive helpful feedback. Conclusion – Though there is some correlation between affective and emotional labour and the motivation of ILI librarians to adopt and implement new teaching practices, the author notes that the results are not generalizable to a larger context based on the small sample size. It is clear there are many opportunities to investigate other factors that impact librarian motivation and emotional labour including the dynamics of race, gender identity, and disability, or the managerial and structural factors and workplace culture that impede or facilitate the adoption of new teaching practices.

Annual electronic journal usage data for the NorthEast Research Library (NERL) consortium was analyzed for 2000 and 2001 for the Academic Press IDEAL aggregate package. Patterns indicated a high degree of skew in use of the journal collection: a small number of journals formed the majority of total use. Each institution illustrated a unique usage pattern, with some institutions using (proportionally) more or less of the collection. No institution used every title, and some titles were used very infrequently by the consortium as a whole. Title ranking showed high congruence between 2000 and 2001. Titles not subscribed in print received about ten times less use than locally subscribed titles. Cluster analysis revealed three distinct groups of institutions based on use of the journal package: large research institutions, medical institutions, and smaller liberal arts colleges and polytechnic institutes. Student enrollment is a good predictor of total usage, with medical institutions being an exception. It is recommended that institutions consider their consortial membership and organize themselves into groups of homogenous institutions with similar missions.

Objective:To examine relationships between history of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), neuropsychological measures of executive function, and lifetime history of criminal justice (CJ) involvement among combat-exposed Veterans and Service Members (V/SM).Participants and Methods:Participants were combat-exposed V/SM who completed a baseline assessment for the multicenter Long-term Impact of Military-Relevant Brain Injury Consortium - Chronic Effects of Neurotrauma Consortium study (N=1,341) and had adequate engagement/symptom reporting on measures of performance and symptom validity (i.e., Medical Symptom Validity Test and Mild Brain Injury Atypical Symptoms Scale). Neuropsychological battery included the Trail Making Test (A and B), Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-IV (WAIS-IV) Digit Span subtest, and the National Institute of Health (NIH) Toolbox Flanker subtest. Lifetime history of brain injury, criminal justice involvement, and demographics were collected. Participants were 87% male, 72% white, with a mean age of 40 years (SD=9.67). Eighty-one percent had at least some college education. Nineteen percent were active duty. Eighty percent of Veterans and 86% of Service Members reported a history of >1 mTBI, and of these 31% and 47% respectively experienced 3+ mTBIs.Results:Three groups were composed based on level of involvement with the CJ system: 1.) No history of arrests or incarcerations (3+ mTBIs: 64%), 2.) A lifetime history of arrest but no felony incarceration (3+ mTBIs: 34%), and 3.) A lifetime history of felony incarceration (3+ mTBIs: 2%). Ordinal regression analyses revealed that performance on a working memory task (Digit Span; b= 0.024, p= .041; OR= 1.024) was significantly associated with increased CJ involvement after adjusting for age, education, service status, and mTBIs. Performance on measures of processing speed (Trails A), set-shifting (Trails B), and inhibition (Flanker) were not significantly associated with CJ involvement. Number of mTBIs was significantly and positively associated with level of CJ involvement in all four models; Digit Span (p= .016), Trails A (p= .016), Trails B (p= .020), and Flanker (p= .008).Conclusions:Performance on most measures of executive functioning was not significantly associated with CJ involvement in this large, representative sample of V/SM who served in combat. Although performance on a working memory task was significantly associated with CJ involvement, the size of the effect was small and the association was in the opposite direction as expected. Number of mTBIs was significantly associated with level of CJ involvement, indicating that sustaining multiple mTBI may be linked to greater risk of CJ involvement. These findings suggest that social and psychological factors beyond executive dysfunction may better explain the relationship between history mTBIs and CJ involvement. Some aspects of military service and veteran status, such as interdisciplinary treatment for brain injury and physical, mental, and psychosocial health needs, may be protective against previously identified risk factors for arrest (e.g., deficits in executive functioning). Contextualizing mTBI within the larger behavioral health profile of V/SM, with emphasis placed on intervention for related co-morbidities, may reduce the impact of previous arrest on wellbeing and/or reduce the risk of future CJ involvement.

This paper describes a collaborative approach taken by librarians at five small, regional liberal arts colleges to developing/enhancing research data management services on their campuses. The five colleges collectively belong to a consortium known as the Northwest Five Consortium. Over 10 months, librarians from the five schools collaborated to plan a data management and curation workshop with the goals of developing relationships with researchers working with data, developing their own research data management skills and services, and building a model for future training and outreach around institutional research data management services. This workshop brought together research teams including faculty, students, and librarians, and incorporated active learning modules as well as in-depth pre-workshop discussion. This article will discuss the context and background for this workshop, the model itself, and the outcomes and possibilities for future developments.

Harvey S. Levin obtained his Bachelor’s degree from City College of New York, in New York city, Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Iowa, in Iowa City, completed his internships in Clinical Neuropsychology and Pediatric Psychology at the University of Iowa Hospitals in Iowa City and Clinical Psychology, Psychiatry and Pediatrics at the Illinois Masonic Medical Center in Chicago, and his fellowship in Neuropsychology at University of Iowa Hospitals in Iowa City.Dr. Levin started his career in 1972 as Instructor with the Department of Psychology at the University of Iowa and transitioned to The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston, Texas, in 1974, where he began an internationally renowned career in clinical work, teaching, and, most of all, pioneering research on traumatic brain injury (TBI). He ultimately became the Chela and Jimmy Storm Distinguished Professor in Surgical Research, Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery in 1987. After leaving Texas for two years to take a position with the University of Maryland Medical System and Shock Trauma Institute in Baltimore, he moved back to Houston Texas in 1995 and established the Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory (CNL) within the Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at Baylor College of Medicine, which was supported by federal grants, including funding from the National Institutes of Health, Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and numerous private foundations. The CNL integrated rehabilitation and neuroplasticity research with multimodality brain imaging, clinical and neuropsychological assessment, and fluid biomarkers. Dr. Levin was Professor with the Departments of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation where he served as Director of Research (1995-2014), Pediatrics, and Neurosurgery at Baylor College of Medicine. He was also a Research Scientist and the Director of the Center of Excellence for Traumatic Brain Injury at the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center (2008-2013), and Adjunct Professor with the Department of Psychology at Rice University in Houston, Texas.Dr. Levin’s research focused on investigating both acute and long-term outcomes of mild to severe TBI in civilian and military populations, including cognitive and behavioral sequelae in relation to neuropathology using advanced brain imaging modalities. He began prospective, longitudinal studies of adults and children who had sustained TBI associated with closed head trauma upon joining UTMB and developed, in collaboration with Drs O’Donnell and Grossman, the Galveston Orientation and Amnesia Test (GOAT). The GOAT was the first measure to assess post-traumatic amnesia and orientation following moderate to severe TBI, is still most widely used by the clinicians and researchers, and it has been translated to 16 languages. The original publication, “Levin HS, O’Donnell VM, Grossman RG. The Galveston Orientation and Amnesia Test. A practical scale to assess cognition after head injury. J Nerv Ment Dis. 1979 Nov;167(11):675-84. doi: 10.1097/00005053-197911000-00004. PMID: 501342”, has over 1200 citations. This work continued with participation in the NINDS Traumatic Coma Data Bank and the organization of outcome assessments for NINDS-funded clinical trials of hypothermia to treat severe TBI. To monitor the quality of outcome data across performing sites, Dr. Levin and colleagues developed a code for the reliability of data collected and implemented the role of an outcome monitor who evaluated adherence to protocol across sites. Following establishment of the CNL, he pursued investigation of TBI outcomes across the lifespan using multimodality brain imaging and biomarkers, errorless learning, translational studies in collaboration with neuroscientists using animal models, and clinical trials of methylphenidate, progesterone, CDP-choline. Dr. Levin spent over 30 years researching neurobehavioral outcomes of head injury in children, starting with a small pilot study funded by the Shriners Hospital in 1991 and continuing with several cycles of a multicenter R01 grant funded by the National Institute of Health. In later years, he used his expertise as a member of several large consortiums, including the Long-term Impact of Military-Relevant Brain Injury Consortium \ Chronic Effects of Neurotrauma Consortium (LIMBIC-CENC) funded by the VA and DoD and the Transforming Research and Clinical Knowledge in Traumatic Brain Injury (TRACK-TBI) funded by the NINDS.During his career, Dr. Levin authored and coauthored more than 400 articles in scientific journals and over 100 books, with one of them, “Levin, H. S., Benton, A. L., & Grossman, R. G. (1982). Neurobehavioral consequences of closed head injury. Oxford University Press, USA”, having over 1100 citation, as well as book chapters that advanced knowledge of TBI, epilepsy, neurodegenerative diseases, and other illnesses that affect brain functioning. He was also very active as a reviewer on federal grant panels and as an editor and reviewer for the Journal of Neurotrauma, Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, Archives of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Neuropsychology, Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, Lancet, JAMA, Pediatrics, and other top-cited journals. He served as president of the International Neuropsychological Society in 1989-1990. Dr. Levin was a recipient of numerous prestigious awards, including the Javits Neuroscience Investigator Award, the Jennett-Plum Award for Research on Traumatic Brain Injury, the Distinguished Career Award by the International Neuropsychological Society, the American Congress of Rehabilitation Gold Key Award, the Distinguished Lifetime Contribution to Neuropsychology Award from the National Academy of Neuropsychology, as well as awards from other head injury and psychological organizations, including the International Brain Injury Association, the National Head Injury Foundation, the North American Brain Injury Society, Texas Psychological Association, and the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center. In addition to his stellar scientific accomplishments, Dr. Levin trained, mentored, and provided supervision to interns, fellows, postdocs, residents, medical and psychology students. He was the Director of an NCMRR/NIH T32 Postdoctoral Research Program, and training supervisor in neuropsychology for Baylor College of Medicine and for the Memorial Hermann TIRR Neuropsychology Postdoctoral Fellowship Programs. A passionate educator, he taught classes at Baylor College of Medicine, the University of Houston, and the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Medical School in Greece and served as an evaluator for the American Board of Clinical Neuropsychology/American Board of Professional Psychology. He was often invited as a lecturer at numerous scientific organizations.The main objective of this symposium is to provide an overview of the current state of research in TBI while highlighting Dr. Levin’s contributions to this field. The symposium will start with a brief overview of Dr. Levin’s career (Dr. Randall S. Scheibel), followed by presentations focused on the assessment of adult TBI, including posttraumatic amnesia (Dr. Felicia C. Goldstein), the current state of pediatric TBI (Dr. L. Ewing-Cobbs), and novel imaging in TBI (Dr. Erin D. Bigler). There will be a brief discussion session at the end lead by Dr. Elisabeth A. Wilde.

A Review of: Belliston, C. Jeffrey, Jared L. Howland, & Brian C. Roberts. “Undergraduate Use of Federated Searching: A Survey of Preferences and Perceptions of Value-Added Functionality.” College & Research Libraries 68.6 (Nov. 2007): 472-86. Objective – To determine whether use of federated searching by undergraduates saves time, meets their information needs, is preferred over searching databases individually, and provides results of higher quality. Design – Crossover study. Setting – Three American universities, all members of the Consortium of Church Libraries & Archives (CCLA): BYU (Brigham Young University, a large research university); BYUH (Brigham Young University – Hawaii, a small baccalaureate college); and BYUI (Brigham Young University – Idaho, a large baccalaureate college) Subjects – Ninety-five participants recruited via e-mail invitations sent to a random sample of currently enrolled undergraduates at BYU, BYUH, and BYUI. Methods – Participants were given written directions to complete a literature search for journal articles on two biology-related topics using two search methods: 1. federated searching with WebFeat® (implemented in the same way for this study at the three universities) and 2. a hyperlinked list of databases to search individually. Both methods used the same set of seven databases. Each topic was assigned in random order to one of the two search methods, also assigned in random order, for a total of two searches per participant. The time to complete the searches was recorded. Students compiled their list of citations, which were later normalized and graded. To analyze the quality of the citations, one quantitative rubric was created by librarians and one qualitative rubric was approved by a faculty member at BYU. The librarian-created rubric included the journal impact factor (from ISI’s Journal Citation Reports®), the proportion of citations from peer-reviewed journals (determined from Ulrichsweb.com™) to total citations, and the timeliness of the articles. The faculty-approved rubric included three criteria: relevance to the topic, quality of the individual citations (good quality: primary research results, peer-reviewed sources), and number of citations. Data were then analysed using ANOVA and MANOVA. Finally, librarians at the ACRL 13th National Conference Presentation were polled about their perceptions of the time savings of federated searching, whether the method meets undergraduates’ information needs, undergraduate preference for searching, and the quality of citations found. Main Results – Seventy percent of all participants preferred federated searching. For all schools combined, there was no statistically significant difference between the average time taken using federated searching (20.34 minutes) vs. non-federated searching (22.72 minutes). For all schools combined, there was a statistically significant difference in satisfaction of results favouring federated searching (5.59/7 vs. 4.80/7 for non-federated searching, α = .05). According to the librarian-created rubric, citations retrieved from federated searching were a statistically significant 6% lower in quality than citations retrieved from non-federated searching (α = .05). The faculty-approved rubric did not detect a difference in the quality of the citations retrieved using the 2 methods. Librarians’ perceptions as assessed at the ACRL 13th National Conference Presentation generally matched the authors’ findings. Conclusion – Overall, students in this study preferred federated searching, were more satisfied with the results of federated searching, and saved time (although the savings were not statistically significant). The quality of citations retrieved via both methods was judged to be similar. The study provides useful information for librarians interested in users’ experiences and perceptions of federated searching, and indicates future studies worth conducting.

Universities and colleges provide students with an opportunity to grow personally and professionally through a structured series of learning experiences. Yet disasters can interrupt traditional place-based education and prove to be intractable policy problems. The challenges of developing robust plans and drilling them extensively are most pronounced among smaller public colleges and universities. This article describes how three small- to moderate-sized higher education institutions formed a consortium to better prepare for emergencies, despite limited resources. Together the institutions built common templates, hired joint staff, and created a suit of joint exercises appropriate for their small size and campus-specific needs. In the process, they shared unique perspectives that improved resilience across the institutions.

TO THINK CHRISTIANLY: A History of L'Abri, Regent College, and the Christian Study Center Movement by Charles E. Cotherman. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2020. 320 pages. Hardcover; $35.00. ISBN: 9780830852826. *How do Christians studying at secular universities, where religion is either ignored or attacked, achieve an integral Christian perspective on their areas of study and future careers? Charles Cotherman presents a first-rate history of one way that Christians have sought to answer this question, namely, in establishing Christian study centers on or adjacent to university campuses. *The Christian study center movement (CSCM) in North America arose to teach and guide Christians in how to think and behave Christianly in all areas and professions of life, by drawing upon the insights of biblical and theological studies. Cotherman defines such a study center as "a local Christian community dedicated to spiritual, intellectual and relational flourishing via the cultivation of deep spirituality, intellectual and artistic engagement, and cultivation of hospitable presence" (p. 8). He rightly contends that the roots of the CSCM movement are found in two institutions: L'Abri Fellowship in Switzerland (founded 1955) and Regent College in Vancouver (founded 1968). In Part 1, Innovation, he presents the history of these two institutions. *In chapter one, Cotherman gives an account of the birth and development of L'Abri under the leadership of Francis and Edith Schaeffer. As missionaries to an increasingly secular Europe, their encounter with its culture, art, and philosophical ideas led Francis to contextualize the gospel--as an evangelical Presbyterian minister rooted in the Reformed faith--in an intellectually honest fashion to people influenced by this culture. L'Abri's ministry was so effective because of two other equally important features: the practice of a deep spirituality amidst the rhythms of everyday life, and the practice of relationships in a hospitable community, both of which Francis and Edith were instrumental in shaping. As more people visited L'Abri and were helped in their faith or accepted the gospel, it became known in the wider evangelical Christian world. This gave rise to branches of L'Abri being established in other nations, and to Christians seeking to establish communities on university campuses that embodied L'Abri's intellectual, spiritual, and relational strengths. *In chapter two, Cotherman presents the history of the rise of Regent College and its progress toward financial and academic stability at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. The first principal, James Houston, played a key role in attracting good faculty and in shaping the curriculum to educate laypeople in the Christian worldview for their secular careers. It provided students with a strong sense of community and vital spirituality. Regent also sought to be a witness to and partner with the university by purchasing property on the campus and by obtaining university affiliation. With the decline in enrollment for lay theological education in the 1970s, Regent survived by offering the MDiv degree (1978), attracting new students preparing for pastoral ministry. When other attempts at establishing Christian colleges and Christian study centers were initiated at other universities, Houston served to encourage and guide such ventures by drawing upon Regent's experience. *Inspired by the vision and community of L'Abri and by the success of Regent College, Christians ministering at other university campuses sought to establish "evangelical living and learning centers" on or near the campuses of state universities (p. 91). Part 2, Replication, gives an account of three such CSCM ventures: (1) the C. S. Lewis Institute (initially at the University of Maryland, later in downtown Washington, DC); (2) New College, Berkeley; and (3) the Center for Christian Study at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville. Cotherman also includes in this section a chapter on the history and progress of Ligonier Ministries under the leadership and teaching gifts of R. C. Sproul (initially in Pennsylvania, then in Orlando, Florida). Although originally modelled after L'Abri as a lay-teaching retreat center in a rural setting, Ligonier's move to Orlando marked a shift to a ministry focused on Sproul's teaching gifts in (Reformed) theological education that concentrated on video and print materials. The history of Ligonier is clearly the outlier here. Perhaps Cotherman includes it because it began as a retreat center for students, but it gradually became focused on general lay theological education, especially after its move to Orlando. *The three Christian university learning centers all began with grand visions of providing university-level education to aid students, studying at the large universities, in formulating a worldview to enable them to integrate their Christian faith with their academic and professional education. Although these three sought to become free-standing colleges with high-quality faculty, to teach courses during the academic year, and in summer study institutes, the challenges of raising funds, attracting full-time faculty, and finding permanent facilities resulted in all of them having to scale back their plans. The Lewis Institute turned its attention to relational learning, eventually establishing regional centers in eighteen cities; New College, Berkeley, became an affiliate, nondegree granting institution of the Graduate Theological Union, being the evangelical voice there; and the Center for Christian Study shifted its focus to being an inviting and hospitable place for study, formation, and relationships in its building on the edge of the campus. All three found that replicating a Regent College was a much more difficult project than they had originally thought. *Cotherman notes that all four attempts of the CSCM, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, ran into the new reality: American Christians were not willing to take a year off their careers to study for a nonaccredited diploma. Students were more interested in getting degrees that had financial payoffs. The most successful venture was the Center for Christian Study, which used the building it purchased as a hub for various Christian ministries at the university, and as a center for hospitality to Christian and non-Christian students. The Charlottesville Center became a catalyst for the formation of the Consortium of Christian Study Centers across North America. This included not only the three university centers mentioned above, but also numerous others that had arisen on university campuses. Many of the centers became convinced that "the path forward was more a matter of faithful presence through deeply rooted, engaged and hospitable relationships and institutions than it was about the apologetics or cultural bluster that had defined some aspects of the movement in its early days" (p. 252). *Cotherman's concluding chapter notes that the CSCM has largely focused on ministries of faithful presence and generous hospitality, with the goal of holistic flourishing at the universities that they serve. Such flourishing includes helping Christian students to cultivate the ability to think Christianly about current issues and their vocations as they engage the pluralistic ideologies, cultural practices, and neo-pagan practices on university campuses. Cotherman rightly observes that, while both L'Abri and Regent College inspired many to establish such centers, it was Regent that had played the prominent role as a model for those aiming to guide students and to interact with modern secular universities. L'Abri was focused around the unique community that the Schaeffers created and the giftedness of Francis and Edith, but L'Abri failed to interact with the wider academic world. In striving to be a Christian presence on campus, Regent was the appropriate model for the CSCM. *The details of the historical accounts in the book serve to remind the reader that, while grandiose visions and goals drove many in the movement, their reduced aspirations led to the CSCM being better suited to effective witnessing, appropriate educating, and faithful service to students and lay-people today. Any who would start such a Christian study center or who wonder how an existing one can survive should read this book and learn the lessons from the history of the ventures presented. Humility in one's plans and small beginnings are appropriate for any such ministry to avoid the mistakes of the centers presented. *While Cotherman touches on the rising antagonism to Christianity and Christians on university campuses, he fails to provide significant treatment of this new challenge that the CSCM faces. I think we can imply from this fine book that, as the CSCM movement adapted to the new realities in the latter part of the twentieth century, it can also adapt to the intensified attacks on the Christian faith in the twenty-first century. While the challenges ahead are great for Christian university ministries, Christian witness has the resources of the word of God, the wisdom of the Spirit, and the motivation of the gospel which continue to guide biblical discipleship and faithful witness. This historical survey by Cotherman can serve as an encouragement to campus ministry for our increasingly secularized western culture. *Reviewed by Guenther ("Gene") Haas, Professor Emeritus, Religion and Theology Department, Redeemer University, Ancaster, ON L9K 1J4.

Background and Purpose: Nurse researchers and practicing nurses need reliable and valid instruments to measure key clinical concepts. The purpose of this research was to develop an innovative method to measure dimensions of wellness among older adults. Method: A sample of 5,604 community-dwelling older adults was drawn from members of the COLLAGE consortium. The Wellness Assessment Tool (WEL) of the COLLAGE assessment system provided the data used to create the scores. Application of the Rasch analysis and Masters’ partial credit method resulted in logit values for each item within the five dimensions of wellness as well as logit values for each person in the sample. Results: The items fit the Rasch model, and the composite scores for each dimension demonstrated high reliability (1.00). The person reliability was low: social (.19), intellectual (.33), physical (.29), emotional (.20), and spiritual (.29). The small number of items within each dimension and the homogenous sample appear to have contributed to this low reliability. Conclusion: Ongoing research using multidimensional tools to measure dimensions of wellness among older adults is needed to advance wellness science and wellness promotion in nursing practice.

Objective To provide an overview of 4 nonmedical complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) modalities with an emphasis on 1 mind-body approach (yoga), 2 alternative systems (acupuncture, tai chi), and 1 energy therapy (therapeutic touch). Support in the scientific literature for the usefulness of each technique is presented. Data Sources Primary articles on alternative medicine were obtained by performing a MEDLINE search. An online book search was conducted on the Ohio Library and Information Network, a consortium of 79 Ohio colleges, universities, and community colleges and the State Library of Ohio. Data Synthesis All 4 CAM modalities had a scientific basis and were supported in the literature. Main drawbacks to many scientific studies were in methodologic flaws such as small sample sizes, variable interventions, and the absence of controls. Many researchers are beginning to include evidence-based and scientific techniques in their studies that more closely meet established scientific standards. This will lead to more robust, valid, reliable, and uniform methodologic approaches. Discussion Many patients use both CAM and mainstream therapies for their medical conditions. As the quality of scientific studies improves, pharmacists can gain confidence in using the results to provide pharmaceutical care to such patients. It is the pharmacists' responsibility to educate themselves about CAM therapies. Conclusions Embracing a holistic approach to care may enable pharmacists to optimize the pharmaceutical care they provide to all their patients.

Background:Upadacitinib (UPA), an oral JAK inhibitor, demonstrated significant improvements in signs, symptoms, and structural inhibition as monotherapy vs methotrexate (MTX) in a randomized, controlled trial (RCT) of MTX-naive RA patients (pts) through 48 weeks (wks).1Objectives:To present the safety and effectiveness of UPA through 72 wks in an ongoing long-term extension (LTE) of the SELECT-EARLY RCT.Methods:SELECT-EARLY included 2 study periods: (1) a 48-wk double-blind, active comparator-controlled, with pts randomized to UPA monotherapy 15 or 30 mg once daily or MTX (titrated to 20 mg/wk by Wk8); (2) an LTE, up to 4 years. Pts received open-label treatment once the last pt reached Wk48. Rescue therapy was added (MTX, for UPA groups; UPA, for MTX group) to pts not achieving CDAI remission (≤2.8) at Wk26. Non-responder imputation (NRI) was used for missing data as well as for pts receiving rescue therapy. Treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) are summarized per 100 pt yrs (PY) through the cut-off date of 21 Feb 2019, when all pts had reached Wk72. Data are censored at the time of MTX or UPA addition among rescued patients.Results:Of 945 pts randomized and treated, 781 (83%) completed Period 1. Of these, 775 entered the LTE, including 57 rescued pts (MTX, 33; UPA 15 mg, 17; UPA 30 mg, 7). A total of 52 (7%) pts discontinued during the LTE through the cut-off date (primary reasons: AEs [n=16, 2.1%]; consent withdrawal [n=12, 1.5%]; lost to follow-up [n=10, 1.3%]). Cumulative exposures to monotherapy with MTX, UPA 15 mg, and UPA 30 mg were 350.6, 389.5, and 383.9 PYs, respectively. Both UPA 15 mg and 30 mg as monotherapy was associated with continued statistically significant improvements in disease activity measures vs MTX monotherapy through 72 wks (Table). The safety profiles of the UPA 15 and 30 mg groups were comparable for total TEAEs and numerically higher than MTX. Serious TEAEs and TEAEs leading to discontinuation of study drug were comparable across all groups (Figure). Most AEs of special interest were comparable across MTX and UPA groups, with the exception of higher rates of herpes zoster, opportunistic infections, and elevated creatine phosphokinase among the UPA groups. Two pts receiving MTX monotherapy experienced a venous thromboembolic event, with one event reported on UPA 30 mg and none on UPA 15 mg. There were 12 deaths (including 3 non-treatment-emergent) due to varied causes.Table.Proportion of Patients at Week 72 (NRI)Parameter (%)MTXMonotherapyUPA 15 mg QDMonotherapyUPA 30 mg QDMonotherapyACR20/50/7050/39/2671***/62***/47***72***/67***/54***DAS28(CRP) ≤3.2/<2.638/2863***/52***69***/61***CDAI ≤10/≤2.842/1960***/35***69***/44***Boolean Remission1329***33******,P<0.001 for differences between MTX and UPA 15 and UPA 30 mg groups.MTX, methotrexate; UPA, upadacitinib; QD, once daily; ACR, American College of Rheumatology; DAS28(CRP), 28-joint disease activity index based on C-reactive protein; CDAI, clinical disease activity index.Figure.Treatment-emergent Adverse Events Through ≥72 Weeks (E/100 PYs, 95% CI).Conclusion:Long-term UPA monotherapy was associated with continued improvements in RA signs and symptoms vs MTX monotherapy through 72 wks, and only a small proportion of pts required MTX addition at Wk26. Through 72 wks of treatment, the safety profile of UPA monotherapy remained consistent with data reported through 48 wks.1References:[1]van Vollenhoven R,et al.Ann Rheum Dis2019;78(S):376.Disclosure of Interests: :Ronald van Vollenhoven Grant/research support from: AbbVie, Arthrogen, Bristol-Myers Squibb, GlaxoSmithKline, Lilly, Pfizer, and UCB, Consultant of: AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Biotest, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene, GSK, Janssen, Lilly, Medac, Merck, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche, and UCB, Tsutomu Takeuchi Grant/research support from: Eisai Co., Ltd, Astellas Pharma Inc., AbbVie GK, Asahi Kasei Pharma Corporation, Nippon Kayaku Co., Ltd, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd, UCB Pharma, Shionogi & Co., Ltd., Mitsubishi-Tanabe Pharma Corp., Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd., Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Consultant of: Chugai Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, Astellas Pharma Inc., Eli Lilly Japan KK, Speakers bureau: AbbVie GK, Eisai Co., Ltd, Mitsubishi-Tanabe Pharma Corporation, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, AYUMI Pharmaceutical Corp., Eisai Co., Ltd, Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd., Gilead Sciences, Inc., Novartis Pharma K.K., Pfizer Japan Inc., Sanofi K.K., Dainippon Sumitomo Co., Ltd., Maureen Rischmueller Consultant of: Abbvie, Bristol-Meyer-Squibb, Celgene, Glaxo Smith Kline, Hospira, Janssen Cilag, MSD, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche, Sanofi, UCB, Ricardo Blanco Grant/research support from: Abbvie, MSD and Roche, Consultant of: Abbvie, Pfizer, Roche, Bristol-Myers, Janssen and MSD, Speakers bureau: Abbvie, Pfizer, Roche, Bristol-Myers, Janssen, Lilly and MSD, Ricardo Xavier Consultant of: AbbVie, Pfizer, Novartis, Janssen, Eli Lilly, Roche, Mark Howard Shareholder of: AbbVie Inc., Employee of: AbbVie Inc., Alan Friedman Shareholder of: AbbVie Inc, Employee of: AbbVie Inc, Yanna Song Shareholder of: AbbVie Inc., Employee of: AbbVie Inc., Vibeke Strand Consultant of: AbbVie, Amgen, Biogen, Celltrion, Consortium of Rheumatology Researchers of North America, Crescendo Bioscience, Eli Lilly, Genentech/Roche, GlaxoSmithKline, Hospira, Janssen, Merck, Novartis, Pfizer, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Sanofi, UCB

ObjectiveTo examine the association between estimated age at first exposure (eAFE) to American football and clinical measures throughout recovery following concussion.MethodsParticipants were recruited across 30 colleges and universities as part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)–Department of Defense Concussion Assessment, Research and Education Consortium. There were 294 NCAA American football players (age 19 ± 1 years) evaluated 24–48 hours following concussion with valid baseline data and 327 (age 19 ± 1 years) evaluated at the time they were asymptomatic with valid baseline data. Participants sustained a medically diagnosed concussion between baseline testing and postconcussion assessments. Outcome measures included the number of days until asymptomatic, Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT) composite scores, Balance Error Scoring System (BESS) total score, and Brief Symptom Inventory 18 (BSI-18) subscores. The eAFE was defined as participant's age at the time of assessment minus self-reported number of years playing football.ResultsIn unadjusted regression models, younger eAFE was associated with lower (worse) ImPACT Visual Motor Speed (R2 = 0.031, p = 0.012) at 24–48 hours following injury and lower (better) BSI-18 Somatization subscores (R2 = 0.014, p = 0.038) when the athletes were asymptomatic. The effect sizes were very small. The eAFE was not associated with the number of days until asymptomatic, other ImPACT composite scores, BESS total score, or other BSI-18 subscores.ConclusionEarlier eAFE to American football was not associated with longer symptom recovery, worse balance, worse cognitive performance, or greater psychological distress following concussion. In these NCAA football players, longer duration of exposure to football during childhood and adolescence appears to be unrelated to clinical recovery following concussion.

Abstract Background: Individual susceptibility to pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is determined by both genetic and clinical factors. Polygenic risk scores (PRS) represent a summation of an individual’s risk associated alleles across their genome but it is unclear whether PRS improve prognostic assessments beyond available clinical data. Specific Aims: To evaluate the characteristics of studies examining PRS discrimination for PDAC before and after accounting for clinical factors. Methods: Following the PRISMA extension for scoping reviews (DOI: osf.io/97hxw), we performed a comprehensive literature search in conjunction with a professional librarian to identify preprint and published research studies evaluating PDAC PRS. Results: Nineteen studies (of 392 reviewed citations) examined associations between a PDAC-specific PRS and PDAC. The majority were conducted among the UK Biobank (n= 8) and pancreatic cancer consortia (n=4). The rest were institutional biobanks or hospital-based studies. Thirteen studies used a case-control design, and 7 adjusted for clinical risk factors (Table). Only 3 studies (15.8%) evaluated the change in discrimination with the addition of PRS to clinical factors vs. clinical factors alone, and 2 of these reported small but statistically significant improvements in discrimination (ΔAUC: 0.030, 0.039). Source populations were younger/healthier (n=9) than those at risk for PDAC, exclusively European (n=14), or drew controls without relevant exposures such as pancreatic diseases (n=2). Conclusions: Most PDAC-specific PRS studies do not account for well-established clinical factors or evaluate changes in discrimination with the addition of PRS to clinical factors. Of the 3 studies that did, only 2 showed a modest improvement in discrimination. For PRS to be clinically useful, they must demonstrate more substantial improvements in discrimination beyond established risk factors. Studies containing PDAC-specific polygenic risk scores and clinical risk factors First Author Journal Year Study Design Aim/Purpose Population Description Population Size Ancestry Definition of Pancreatic Cancer Deriving the Polygenic Risk score Analysis Clinical risk Factors Evalulation of predictive ability of models containing PRS Evaluation of the Additive Benefit of PRS Clinical Context Byrne medRxiv 2021 cohort evaluate the effect of lifestyle and genetic risk on overall cancer risk for 13 separate cancers UK Biobank 195,822 total individuals (451 cancers) European genetic ancestry ICD codes, cancer registries 22 SNPs used for pancreatic cancer Cox proportional hazards regression Townsend Index (socioeconomic index), education, birth location, income, height no no national cohort of individuals in the UK, notably younger and of European ancestry Galeotti BMJ 2021 case/control test association of pancreatic cancer specific PRS, with addition of ABO SNPs, smoking, and diabetes PANcreaticDisease ReseArch (PANDoRA) consortium: controls were without any pancreatic diseases 9409 total individuals (3619 cases, 5790 controls) European genetic ancestry confirmed diagnosis of pancreatic cancer SNPs at GWAS significance or near significance (p&lt;10−7); also used SNPs necessary to infer ABO blood groups logistic regression all patients: country of origin, subset: smoking, Type 2 diabetes yes, evaluated the AUC for the full prediction model no limited, controls were without pancreatic disease, such as pancreatitis or pancreatic cysts Kachuri Nature Communications 2020 cohort evaluate additive predictive value of adding PRS for 16 separate cancers UK Biobank 413,753 total individuals (493 cancers) self reported European anestry ICD codes from cancer/mortality registries and inpatient hospital encouters (NHGRI)-European Bioinformatics Institute (EBI) Catalog ofpublished GWAS using standard weights, unweighted sum of risk alleles, and inverse variance weights that incorporate the standarderror of the risk effect size Cox proportional hazards regression BMI, smoking status, cigarette pack-years,family history of cancer (prostate, breast, lung or colon/rectum) Yes, calibration (estimate risk) and discrimination (AUC, NRI of cases vs. cancer free individuals) yes, PGOF: 0.171; AUC increase with PRS: 0.030, total AUC with PRS 0.745 used a national cohort of individuals in the UK, notably younger and of European ancestry Nakatochi Plos One 2018 case/control develop a risk model to identify individuals at high risk for pancreatic cancer development in the general Japanese population two separate case- control datasets in Japan controls: matched age/sex, no diagnosis of cancer at time of recuritment from five Japanese hospitals and the epidemiology research program at Aichi Cancer Center 1,328 total individuals (664 cases, 664 controls) genetically determined Japanese ancestry clinical diagnosis or histologically diagnosed pancreatic cancer, including 1.7% endocrine tumors 5 total SNPs significantly associated with pancreatic cancer logistic regression smoking status, family history of pancreatic cancer Yes, AUC in model containing PRS no limited, controls were drawn from non-cancer patients for a epidemiology research program at Aichi Cancer Center and from inpatients at 5 separate hospitals Rothwell CGH 2022 cohort evaluate metabolic syndrome, additional clinical factors across levels of polygenic risk score UK Biobank 366,016 total individuals (478 cancers) mainly European genetic ancestry ICD codes 26 SNPs at genome wide significance level Cox proportional hazards regression total physical activity, height, alcohol use, diet, smoking, highest educational level,college/university degree, use of ibuprofen, hormone replacement therapy, fasting time no, evaluated other clinical factors stratified on PRS tertile levels no used a national cohort of individuals in the UK, notably younger and of European ancestry Salvatore Journal of Biomedical Informatics 2021 case/control evaluate various phenotype risk scores (PheRS) and assess their discriminatory ability, calibration, and accuracy in combination with polygenic risk scores and clinical risk models Michigan Genomics Initiative (MGI) and UK Biobank; controls were matched on age, sex, and length of followup 431,658 total individuals (1088 cases, 430,570 controls) European ancestry ICD codes 18 independent SNPS from the GWAS catalog using 1) LD clumping and 2) P value thresholding logistic regression BMI, alcohol, smoking yes, AUC, Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness of fit, Brier score for covariates only or PRS + covariates); separate testing and validation cohort yes, modest improvement in the AUC after covariates/risk factors with PRS (Δ AUC: 0.017, no 95% CI provided) limited, controls are likely healthier than the at risk population, as they are are either sampled during a preoperative/operative appointment or are drawn from the healthier, younger UK Biobank population Sharma Gastroenterology 2022 case/control test the performance of PRS to discriminate between new onset diabetes and long standing diabetic patients with pancreatic cancer UK Biobank 11,462 total (1042 cases, 10420 controls); age and sex matched cancer free controls European ancestry incident cases of PDAC as measured by ICD codes and self reported 5 PRS calculated from each of the previous GWASes performed Cox proportional hazards regression age at DM diagnosis, DM onset, waist circumference, family history of pancreatic cancer yes, AUC in models with and without PRS yes, AUC increase with PRS: 0.039, total AUC with PRS 0.83 (p value 0.0002) used a national cohort of individuals in the UK, notably younger and of European ancestry Citation Format: Louise Wang, Alyssa Grimshaw, Catherine Mezzacappa, Navid Rahimi Larki, Yu-Xiao Yang, Amy Justice. Do polygenic risk scores add to clinical data in predicting pancreatic cancer? a scoping review. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2023; Part 1 (Regular and Invited Abstracts); 2023 Apr 14-19; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(7_Suppl):Abstract nr 5242.

I was glad to read today, on December 16th of 2016, that the Sports Sciences Department of the University of Beira Interior (UBI) appears in an outstanding place in the Shanghai Ranking's Global Ranking for Sport Science Schools and Departments. We could indicate that this small department is actually in the top 80 of the sports schools of the world, which is something that should be highlighted.In 2007, the head of the Department of Sports Sciences at UBI and currently president of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities (UBI) called for the development of internal research in the field of sports sciences, not only on the national panorama, but above all on an international level. This wish was strongly based on a complete lack of research in the department, in which until 2007 there was no single publication with indexing, much less with ISI or Scopus or any relevant project or book recognized by the scientific community. It was a herculean and risky challenge, but today we think that it has been more than achieved. At that time the cornerstones for the development and sustainability of the investigation in the department were based on three key-vectors: selection and recruitment of more teachers with experience and research potential; acquisition of equipment, laboratory software and reformulation of the advanced training proposal (reformulation of the Master course and Doctoral study plan).As a complement to the quality of the existing teachers, external professors were hired. The rectory was present in the creation of an R & D unit in consortium with UTAD, UMa and 5 Polytechnics Schools, under the designation of CIDESD with headquarters in UTAD and a center in UBI. As far as the equipment is concerned, the department has acquired high quality material and diversification through internal funds (Department / Faculty) and also with the individual scientific production funds of the research unit CIDESD/UBI. Between 2008 and 2013, these acquisitions encouraged the exponential writing of articles, the development of projects and the conclusion with high quality of masters and doctoral theses. This was only possible due to the high scientific production carried out, which was strictly thought in favor of our students and the Department of Sports Sciences. The acquisition of research material had not only a typical laboratory concern but also an ecological one, that is, most of the acquired equipment was portable, allowing us to carry out several studies outside the Department, going to the places where the individuals that composed the samples were. Finally, since 2009, there has been a strong internationalization policy for the Masters course, especially with the arrival of highly qualified teachers from worldwide, which has allowed the promotion of research policies and a significant increase in quantity, but above all in the quality of the published articles. In this research policies project - it was sought to present a line of concrete study that addressed some pertinent problems to which the international literature has not yet shown any final conclusions.In the last two decades, scientific research in Sport Sciences has grown exponentially in the department. Unfortunately, most of the resources, such as critical mass or equipment (laboratories) are still scarce in our country, although some universities have taken important steps in order to reverse this situation. Thus, UBI could not remain unaware of this "revolution". We had a young department with quality and capacity to perform quality research. To this purpose, it was urgent to develop protocols and / or connect with universities and researchers of international reference, which would transport us to higher levels of research. Since our field of study was so vast and complex, we had to focus on the following points of interest: A) preparing research projects in the field of sports performance; B) drawing short - term strategies for the construction of a root laboratory that would be able to transport us to the "front line"; C) helping integrate our young doctoral students (teachers) into the "world" of research. Considering the opening of the European university space resulting from the Maastricht Treaty, one of the pillars of the internationalization policy has been the focus on European cooperation activities. Numerous protocols were developed with the University of Pitesti, the Public University of Navarra, the Pablo de Olavide University, and the University of Barry State. These contacts were a result from the social and academic networks established with members of these universities.After hiring the new professors whose doctorates were concluded between 2007 and 2009, the mission of equating a course development strategy and improving its attractiveness was crucial. Given the fact that, at the level of the 2nd cycle offer, the demand was low, it was therefore necessary to attract students from other schools of the country. It was obvious that this would only be possible with the use of previous personal knowledge networks and the support of the Center for Research in Sport, Health and Human Development (CIDESD), a research center where UBI is an integrated member.The 2nd cycle of studies of the Master’s Degree in Sports Sciences was created in the 1st year of the Bologna Process adjustments of the courses given at the UBI. At that time, the Department's doctoral faculty was exiguous and very little diversified. For this reason, the Curricular Units proposed for the curriculum were based in the possibility of hiring other human resources. National and international teachers of recognized pedagogical and scientific value were recruited, with special emphasis on the prestigious curriculum of publications in the area of Sports Sciences. Provisional calls were launched and readily accepted on the condition that they taught concentrated classes, similar to what already being done in many foreign universities and also in some national ones.In the main scientific area of the cycle of studies (Sports Sciences) all the teachers integrated in the service distribution are effective members or collaborators of CIDESD. CIDESD is a research unit accredited by FCT (since the 12th of December of 2009) with the initial classification of GOOD and nowadays of VERY GOOD. Also worth mentioning is the collaboration with the Center for Excellence in Studies, Research and Sports Medicine and the Navarro Institute of Sport, Government of Navarra.The approach to scientific research has also been a point of honor of this department, carried out in a sustainable way, mainly through teaching / learning methodologies specific to each curricular unit (CU), mostly through research seminars. This approach begins in the 1st semester of the 1st year, encouraging the student to the good practices of scientific research, particularly in his area of interest. However, the ultimate milestone of his effective integration into the scientific research can only be consolidated if the student is qualified to prepare or eventually to submit a scientific paper in an ISI-indexed journal provided by the Seminar CUs. Finally, we must highlight the involvement in the implementation of technical-scientific events allowing contact with basic and applied science, of which the Research Seminar of CIDESD and CIDESD Junior is the best example. It should also be said that the scientific activity produced by teachers and students is strongly implemented in the methodological orientation of teaching / research and in the provision of services and advice to the academic community and to civil society in general. Regarding to the research-community relationship, the type of research developed is powerfully applied by integrating and transmitting immediately the produced knowledge to the stakeholders (e.g., clubs, municipalities, gymnasiums and swimming pools). Therefore, this applied research par excellence in the physical activity context of exercise and sport in its most diverse fields of application brings economic benefits to the partners of the course.It should be mentioned that in the last two years there has been a significant increase in the publication of scientific articles in journals indexed to the ISI Web of Knowledge, a true and successful Case Study at the national level. Also note that part of the articles published during the last years were launched in magazines with an impact factor higher than 1.0. Also noteworthy are the publications in book or chapter format of books with scientific review. There are also dozens of abstracts published in national and international conferences (with scientific review). In fact, we consider this type of publication as an excellent measure of dissemination of the work produced by senior researchers and 3rd cycle students. In some cases, even for the 2nd cycle students.We succeeded in spreading knowledge through the range of articles available in worldwide renowned journals, i.e.: Original Research, Brief Reviews, Reviews, Methodological Reports, Research Notes, and Letters to Editor. In terms of impact, if we consider that the UBI Teaching Activity Regulation defined 0.4 as the impact reference median to the Sports Sciences, the publications in question are clearly above this level with an average close to 1.0 impact, a high value for the sports sciences. It should be emphasized that more than 50 percent of the articles refer to 1.8-1.9 impact journals, and that we have had a review - recently published in the highest impact factor journal of the area (Sports Medicine: 5.2).With this philosophy of publications, it was intended to carry out a large number of scientific studies that addressed a panoply of issues considered more relevant like the ones related to the effectiveness of Strength Training and Physical Condition on performance improvements in High Performance Sports, Public School and Exercise /Health. Consequently, this line of thought / intervention, in addition to discussing in a pragmatic and scientific way different topics related to the methodology of Strength Training and Physical Condition, tried to do a parallelism between theory and practice, that is, most of the abovementioned articles are of a highly practical nature in order to daily assist coaches, physical education teachers and health / sport professionals. We also analyzed the Simultaneous Training of Strength and Aerobic thematic, as well as the problematic of the Detraining. These are two hot topics as both are far from consensus in the scientific community.Since the origin of the Department (1994), the first four experimental studies conducted in our laboratories have been published in two of the best sports training magazines. In the five-year period in question, the level of scientific production was exponential with more 100 international ISI articles published or accepted for publication in journals indexed to international reference databases by the end of 2013. The participation in conferences such as the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the European College of Sport Science (ECSS) as well as the positive evaluation of 2 R & D projects by international panels (with emphasis on the project approved in call 2010) seem to indicate that the scientific community recognizes the efforts done to contribute for a better understanding of the sportive phenomenon, both in theoretical as in empirical terms. We should also note the level of involvement in the scientific community with referee reports for international reference journals and with several coauthors affiliated to different universities (national and international).The research networks developed in 5 years and the funding of the international R & D Projects planned for the coming years, will not only allow the renewal of equipment and software, but also bring the possibility of hiring highly qualified human resources, guaranteeing important conditions to continue in the line of international merit investigation. It is also an important incentive to further progress in the worldwide scientific production, recognized by the scientific community as well as helping UBI to consolidate its role in the country and in the world, in this scientific area. However, there are still some teachers who feel some lack of motivation to publish regularly.

Abstract Women who carry the germline CHEK2 c.1100delC mutation have a 2.3-fold increased life-time risk to develop breast cancer (BC). Their BCs are mostly of the luminal/ER+ subtype and diagnosed at a younger age than BCs in sporadic patients. BC patients carrying a CHEK2 c.1100delC mutation are at an increased risk of developing a contralateral BC and have a worse survival compared to sporadic BC patients although resistance to either endocrine or chemotherapy does not appear to play a role herein. To unravel the biological mechanism by which CHEK2 c.1100delC exerts its tumorigenic potential, whole genome sequencing was performed of matching normal and primary BC (pBC) DNA from twenty female CHEK2 c.1100delC mutation carriers at Hartwig Medical Foundation (HMF). We compared the somatic pBC genomes of these twenty patients to 560 pBC genomes from the International Cancer Genome Consortium including 30 BRCA1 and 25 BRCA2 mutation carriers and 329 sporadic ER+ pBC patients. The validation cohort consisted of 517 metastatic BC (mBC) genomes from the Center for Personalized Cancer Treatment that were sequenced at HMF and included 24 mBC genomes from CHEK2 c.1100delC mutation carriers. We found that CHEK2 pBC and mBC genomes were dissimilar to pBC and mBC genomes of BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers and did not show evidence of a homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) phenotype. Instead, CHEK2 pBC and mBC genomes were very similar to genomes of sporadic ER+ pBC and mBC patients in terms of tumor mutational burden, single and double base substitution signatures as well as small insertion/deletion signatures. The size distribution of structural variants (SVs), however, was different for CHEK2 pBCs and mBCs compared with ER+ as well as BRCA1 and BRCA2 pBCs and mBCs. Importantly, the CHEK2 c.1100delC mutation was associated with an increased frequency of larger (&gt; 1Mb) deletions, inversions and tandem duplications (TDs) with peaks at specific sizes. Although CHEK2 mBC genomes more frequently harbored chromothripsis compared with other mBC subtypes, this did not explain the CHEK2-specific SV size distribution pattern. Moreover, increased chromothripsis in CHEK2 mBC genomes was not associated with a higher frequency of somatic TP53 mutations. In fact, we did not observe any somatic TP53 mutations among CHEK2 pBC and mBC genomes. This mutual exclusiveness suggests CHEK2-driven tumorigenesis could act through the TP53 signaling pathway. To conclude, CHEK2 BC genomes do not harbor somatic TP53 mutations and display a unique SV size distribution profile. Moreover, the absence of an HRD phenotype among CHEK2 BC genomes suggests PARP inhibitors will not be effective for treatment of BC in CHEK2 c.1100delC mutation carriers. Increasing knowledge of the mechanisms of CHEK2-driven tumorigenesis may ultimately lead to the development of tailored strategies for treatment and prevention of BC for CHEK2 mutation carriers. Citation Format: Marcel Smid, Marjanka K. Schmidt, Wendy J. Prager - van der Smissen, Kirsten Ruigrok - Ritstier, Sten Cornelissen, Maartje A. Schreurs, J. Margriet Collee, Muriel A. Adank, Maartje J. Hooning, John W. Martens, Antoinette Hollestelle. The genomic landscape of breast cancers from CHEK2 c.1100delC mutation carriers [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2022; 2022 Apr 8-13. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(12_Suppl):Abstract nr 3627.

Abstract The use of new generation sequencing technology has led to the recent identification of disease-causing mutations in the RASGRP2gene that encodes CalDAG-GEFI, a small GTPase-activating nucleotide exchange factor essential for integrin activation in platelets and megakaryocytes. Abrogation of CalDAG-GEFI function leads to a Glanzmann thrombasthenia (GT)-like platelet defect with a major loss in the platelet aggregation response. It is important to know the clinical profiles of patients with CalDAG-GEFI deficiency. Here we present variable phenotypes encountered in a large family with Jamaican ancestry associated with a truncating CalDAG-GEFI mutation. The initial propositus (case 1) was a 51 yr-old Jamaican man with a GT-like platelet function phenotype and absent platelet aggregation to a range of physiologic agonists (including ADP and collagen) but a normal response to ristocetin. His platelets contained a full complement of the αIIbβ3 integrin and Sanger sequencing failed to reveal any mutations in the ITGA2B and ITGB3genes. His sister presented a similar profile and flow cytometry showed that platelets of both patients bound 5-30% of the normal levels of PAC-1 after platelet stimulation with ADP thereby confirming a much decreased αIIbβ3 function. Yet western blotting confirmed normal levels of αIIb and β3 in their platelets that also contained an abundant storage pool of fibrinogen (Fg). Clot retraction occurred but was reduced and platelets bound to a Fg-covered surface (result provided by the late Professor JG White, Minneapolis, MN). DNA from case 1 was analyzed by whole exome sequencing within the BRIDGE - Bleeding and Platelet Disorders consortium (Cambridge, UK) and a homozygous c.1490delT predicted to give rise to a p.F497fs*22 truncating mutation near to the C-terminal domain of CalDAG-GEFI was highlighted in Bordeaux. Consanguinity is present within the family. Sanger sequencing performed in Marseille showed that case 1 and his sister were homozygous for the c.1490delT and that 3 (mother, aunt and niece) out of 4 close family members were heterozygous for the mutation. Transfection of human embryonic kidney (HEK) cells with the mutated CalDAG-GEFI confirmed the expression of the truncated protein. The propositus and his sister have experienced spontaneous bleeding and both have had excessive bleeding after surgery. In particular, the sister had episodes of severe epistaxis and heavy menstruation requiring frequent hospitalizations as a child with no benefit from platelet transfusions; she underwent hysterectomy and cholecystectomy under platelet transfusions and rFVIIa infusion. The propositus had episodes of gingival bleeding as a child and needed hospitalization for a tooth extraction. In 2006 he presented with headaches and was found to have a meningioma that was removed surgically (6 hours) under the cover first of platelet transfusions that again failed to prevent bleeding. This led to the use of rFVIIa that reduced bleeding despite a transient hypoxemia that led to a reduced dose and the adjunction of aminocaproic acid. The patient made a full recovery. Of interest, he has previously reported problems with wound repair namely abnormal scarring with excessive keloid. Also of note is the occurrence of ITP within 2 family members (aunt and her son who is otherwise asymptomatic) and his father died from bleeding complications following a major accident. We recommend the assembly of as much data as possible on the range of phenotypes and treatment of bleeding in families with inherited RASGRP2 defects. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Abstract Background High-resolution structural MRI has been widely used in clinical research to detect and quantify subtle brain changes in patient populations. Findings from prospective, longitudinal studies show structural brain abnormalities as well as progressive gray matter changes over time in individuals at clinical high risk for psychosis compared to healthy subjects. In recent years, research in this field has seen an increase in multicentre neuroimaging projects, such as EU-GEI, PSYSCAN, PRONIA and NAPLS. Additional sources of variance, alongside known technological and biological factors, may be introduced when MRI images are acquired and combined from different sites. It is imperative for longitudinal multicentre studies to determine the accuracy of quantitative MRI measurements and account for systematic differences both between scanners and across scanning sessions. This is particularly true within psychosis research where morphometric changes as small as 3% or less are expected. Methods Six healthy participants were scanned on four separate occasions over a two-month period at King’s College London; twice on a GE SIGNA HDx 3T scanner used locally in the EU-GEI High Risk Study and twice on a GE MR750 3T scanner used locally in the PSYSCAN study. Both scanners implemented the ADNI-2 T1 protocol which is used globally across the EU-GEI and PSYSCAN consortia. Structural imaging data was segmented using the FreeSurfer 6.0 longitudinal pipeline. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) with a two-way mixed effects model of absolute agreement were calculated to assess intra- and inter-scanner reliability of brain morphometry. For volumetric studies, ICC values greater than 0.9 indicate ‘excellent’ reliability. Reliability analyses of key regions implicated in psychosis included gray matter volume estimates of the hippocampus, insula, lateral ventricle, orbitofrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex, and average cortical thickness measurements of the whole brain, parahippocampus and superior frontal cortex. Results Gray matter volume estimates of all structures yielded ‘excellent’ reliability for both intra-scanner (ICCs of 0.979 – 0.998) and inter-scanner analyses (ICCs of 0.976 – 0.999). Intra-scanner reliability for mean cortical thickness measurements was ‘excellent’ for right total cortex, resulting in an ICC of 0.901, but otherwise ‘good’ for left and total cortex, parahippocampus, superior frontal cortex (ICCs of 0.754 – 0.875). Inter-scanner reliability for mean cortical thickness estimates were most variable across the brain structures. Here, results demonstrated ‘excellent’ reliability for the parahippocampus and left total cortex (ICCs of 0.907 – 0.965), ‘good’ for total cortex (ICC of 0.835), ‘moderate’ for right total cortex, right and total superior frontal cortex (ICCs of 0.520 – 0.676), and ‘poor’ for the left superior frontal cortex which produced an ICC of 0.470. Overall, mean cortical thickness estimates of the superior frontal cortex from two different MR scanners showed the least reliability. Discussion Results confirmed highly reliable estimates for gray matter volumes in all brain structures, both from images acquired within the same scanner and across two different scanners. However, the findings indicated increased variability of mean cortical thickness estimates, particularly between scanners, which should be considered when interpreting study findings. Multicentre structural neuroimaging within the field of psychosis is becoming more common and it must be acknowledged that combining MRI data in multicentre studies will contribute additional sources of variance and potential bias with certain brain regions affected more than others.

Historical and modern scientific thought is dominated by the English language, colonized science, patriarchal norms, and Westernized “ways of knowing.” By making materials that lie outside that narrative discoverable (e.g., non-Western science, Indigenous/Aboriginal knowledge, women in science, etc.) we can assert that science is a global endeavor by representing diverse scientists on physical library shelves or ebook “shelves.” The Cataloging and Metadata Librarian and Science and Outreach Librarian at Furman University, a small liberal arts college, collaborated on a project to address discriminatory practices in the catalog records of a subset of the libraries’ STEM collection. Spurred by another project to update deprecated Cutters in Library of Congress call numbers, we assessed collection content with an eye to improve future collection development and created a local method for collocating DEI materials within an Alma consortium catalog. The intended goals of the project were to update the collection, improve metadata to increase discoverability, and develop an auditing process to use for other collections.

The molecular dynamics group at Fairmont State University models detergent systems with interdisciplinary applications. Simulations currently underway include octane interacting with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) in aqueous solution as well as micelle formation in systems of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide and chloride (CTAB and CTAC, respectively). The simulation of octane and SDS in aqueous solution is designed to model the process of washing away grease with a detergent commonly found in dish soap. It is intended for use as a web-based educational tool to provide a dynamic visualization of micelle formation, e.g. in freshman chemistry classes. CTAB was chosen as a target because of literature evidence that low concentrations of the detergent cause a 100-fold increase in fluorescence of a small organic molecule. This organic molecule is a localized photosensitizer, which is useful in improving photodynamic light therapy that is currently being used as treatment for some cancers. Bromide ion parameters were adapted from the well parameterized chloride ion in the CHARMM forcefield; the comparison is interesting because CTAC and CTAB are known to have different aggregation numbers. Initial simulation results indicate that micelle formation from a random assembly of detergent molecules (n=20-130) occurs rapidly for both species. This research has been supported by the Fairmont State University College of Science and Technology as well as the NASA WV Space Grant Consortium.

This paper is an attempt to assess the major tree species that are being traded in the state and a comparison of domestic and import prices of the most preferred species has been done. India is one of the top producers of tropical logs in the world; on the other hand it is also among the largest consumer of wood products. It is also among the top importing countries of tropical woods since it cannot match its own demand for wood products with domestic supplies (ITTO, 2015). Tamil Nadu has more than 500 small scale timber industries, with majority of them being unorganized. The price had also been fluctuating between domestic and imported wood based on their requirement, quality, size and other parameters. Forty sample respondents were selected through snow ball sampling technique and initial references were drawn from Consortium of Industrial Agroforestry (CIAF) operating at Forest College and Research Institute (Tamil Nadu Agricultural University), Mettupalayam. The price variability between domestic and imported teak was evaluated using bivariate correlation analysis. It could be found that there was significant positive correlation between the price of country teak and Ecuador teak, country teak and African teak which implied that if there is increase in price of country teak, there will be increase in price of either Ecuador or African teak and vice-versa.

AbstractBackgroundEhlers‐Danlos syndromes (EDS) are a heterogeneous group of heritable connective tissue disorders occurring in both human and veterinary patients. The genetics of these disorders are poorly described in small animal patients.Hypothesis/ObjectivesDefine the clinical manifestations and genetic cause of a suspected form of EDS in a cat.AnimalsA 14‐week‐old male domestic medium hair cat was presented with skin hyperextensibility and fragility. The classic tragic facial expression was observed as well as chronic pruritus and mild hyperesthesia.MethodsBlood samples and a skin biopsy sample were collected from the affected cat. Clinical examinations, histology, electron microscopy and whole genome sequencing were conducted to characterize the clinical presentation and identify possible pathogenic DNA variants to support a diagnosis. Criteria defining variant pathogenicity were examined including human disease variant databases.ResultsHistology showed sparse, disorganized collagen and an increase in cutaneous mast cells. Electron microscopy identified ultrastructural defects commonly seen in collagen type V alpha 1 chain (COL5A1) variants including flower‐like collagen fibrils in cross‐section. Whole genome sequencing and comparison with 413 cats in the 99 Lives Cat Genome Sequencing Consortium database identified a novel splice acceptor site variant at exon 4 in COL5A1 (c.501‐2A>C).Conclusions and Clinical ImportanceOur report broadens the current understanding of EDS in veterinary patients and supports the use of precision medicine techniques in clinical veterinary practice. The classification of variants for pathogenicity should be considered in companion animals.

Abstract Background The MANTA vascular closure device (VCD) is a novel collagen plug-based VCD for large bore arteriotomies. The current literature regarding complication rates of this device is quite variable and mostly limited to relatively small case series. Methods This study is retrospective analysis of the MANTA VCD-related main access site complications according to Valve Academic Research Consortium-2 (VARC-2) criteria during the hospital stay. Particular attention was paid to the detailed analysis of multislice computed tomography with regard to the anatomy of the access vessel and the puncture site itself. Results A total of 524 patients underwent transfemoral transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TF TAVI) including the use of the MANTA device (18F) for percutaneous vascular closure. A group of 22 patients was excluded from the study due to incomplete imaging data. During the study period, we observed 28 major (5.6%) and five minor (1.0%) MANTA device-related vascular complications. There was no patient death related to these adverse events. Female gender, vessel angulation at the puncture site, and at least moderate calcification of the dorsal vessel segment were identified as independent predictors for major complications. Conclusions The MANTA device is a feasible option for vascular closure of large bore arteriotomies in patients undergoing TF TAVI or other percutaneous transfemoral interventions. Furthermore, we have identified novel predictors for device failure/complications that should be taken into account for selection of the appropriate closure device. To our knowledge, this report is one of the largest case series analyzing the use of the MANTA VCD.

Introduction: The composition of atherosclerotic plaques differs between individuals and contributes to the incidence of cardiovascular events. A better understanding of the biology underlying variability in plaque composition will provide insights into the progression of cardiovascular diseases. We carried out genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to investigate the genetic underpinnings of the plaque. Methods: We included carotid endarterectomy patients from the Athero-Express Biobank Study (n = 1,439). We quantified the percentage of macrophages and smooth muscle cells, the number of intraplaque vessels, the amount of collagen and calcification, the atheroma size, and the presence of plaque hemorrhage. GWAS was performed for all 9 plaque traits, and combined with summary level from GWAS consortia data on coronary artery disease (CAD), and ischemic stroke. Next, these data were integrated with data from human expression quantitative trait loci analyses, and pathway analyses of the plaque traits. Results: No individual locus reached genome-wide significance, likely due to the moderate sample size involved. However, it is plausible that perturbations of diverse pathways by a large number of genetic loci with small effects together contribute to the regulation of plaque composition. We identified 42-97 pathways significantly associated with each plaque phenotype, with many specific to each trait, supporting the presence of unique genetic components of individual plaque phenotypes. We also detected 39 pathways associated with at least four plaque phenotypes, among which were CAD-associated processes such as “extracellular matrix”, “complement and coagulation cascades” and stroke-associated pathways such as “Toll-like receptor signaling”. Interestingly, we found that smooth muscle cell percentage and atheroma size shared more genetic loci and pathways with intraplaque hemorrhage (such as “Sphingolipid metabolism”); the latter trait is associated with secondary cardiovascular events. Conclusion: There are genetic correlations among plaque phenotypes as well as between plaque phenotypes that provide mechanistic insight into the composition of the plaque and progression to secondary events.

IntroductionThe STAT3 signaling pathway regulates activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) and promotes its fibrogenic behavior. Using a fragment‐based drug design approach, our group has developed HJC0416, a novel orally bioavailable small‐molecule inhibitor of STAT3. HJC0416 was found to induce apoptosis and decreased tumor growth in breast cancer models. In the present study, we studied the antifibrogenic properties of HJC0416 in activated hepatic stellate cells (HSC), which are the major effector cells of liver fibrosis.MethodsHuman (LX‐2) and rat (HSC‐T6) hepatic stellate cell lines were used. Cell proliferation was measured by Alamar Blue assay. Cellular protein expression levels were determined by Western blotting and immunofluorescence. Cell cycle was assessed by flow cytometry. Yo‐pro‐1 staining was used to measure apoptosis.ResultsHJC0416 treatment significantly inhibited LX‐2 and HSC‐T6 cell proliferation in a dose‐dependent fashion, and induced apoptosis and S‐phase cell cycle arrest. HSC activation marker α‐smooth muscle actin was also attenuated. HJC0416 suppressed Tyr705‐phosphorylated STAT3 (pSTAT3) and impaired pSTAT3 nuclear translocation and transcriptional activity. STAT3 target genes cyclin D1 and c‐myc were down‐regulated by HJC0416. Static, a well‐known STAT3 inhibitor, confirmed that HSC proliferation was suppressed by STAT3 inhibition. Extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins collagen type I (Coll.I) and fibronectin (FN) are major components of hepatic scar, with TGFβ being the most potent stimulator for ECM production. Our data revealed that endogenous Coll.I and FN expression were suppressed by HJC0416 in a dose‐dependent manner; TGFβ‐stimulated Coll.I and FN production were prevented by pretreatment with HJC0416.ConclusionHJC0416 inhibits HSC activation via the STAT3 signaling pathway. HJC0416 represents a promising anti‐hepatic fibrogenic agent.Support or Funding InformationThis work was supported by grants P50 CA097007, P30 DA028821, R21 MH098344 (JZ) from the National Institutes of Health, Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas award, R. A. Welch Foundation Chemistry and Biology Collaborative Grant (JZ) from the Gulf Coast Consortia, and John Sealy Memorial Endowment Fund and the Center for Addiction Research (JZ) from the University of Texas Medical Branch.

03—230 Andress, Reinhard (St. Louis U., USA), James, Charles J., Jurasek, Barbara, Lalande II, John F., Lovik, Thomas A., Lund, Deborah, Stoyak, Daniel P., Tatlock, Lynne and Wipf, Joseph A.. Maintaining the momentum from high school to college: Report and recommendations. Die Unterrichtspraxis/Teaching German (Cherry Hill, NJ, USA), 35, 1 (2002), 1—14.03—231 Andrews, David R. (Georgetown U., USA.). Teaching the Russian heritage learner. Slavonic and East European Journal (Tucson, Arizona, USA), 45, 3 (2001), 519—30.03—232 Ashby, Wendy and Ostertag, Veronica (U. of Arizona, USA). How well can a computer program teach German culture? Die Unterrichtspraxis/Teaching German (Cherry Hill, NJ, USA), 35, 1 (2002), 79—85.03—233 Bateman, Blair E. (937 17th Avenue, SE Minneapolis, MN 55414, USA; Email: bate0048@umn.edu). Promoting openness toward culture learning: Ethnographic interviews for students of Spanish. The Modern Language Journal (Malden, MA, USA), 86, 3 (2002), 318—31.03—234 Belz, Julie A. and Müller-Hartmann, Andreas. Deutsche-amerikanische Telekollaboration im Fremdsprachenuterricht – Lernende im Kreuzfeuer der institutionellen Zwänge. [German-American tele-collaboration in foreign language teaching – learners in the crossfire of institutional constraints.] Die Unterrichtspraxis/Teaching German (Cherry Hill, NJ, USA), 36, 1 (2002), 68—78.03—235 Bosher, Susan and Smalkoski, Kari (The Coll. of St. Catherine, St. Paul, USA; Email: sdbosher@stkate.edu). From needs analysis to curriculum development: Designing a course in health-care communication for immigrant students in the USA. English for Specific Purposes (Amsterdam, The Netherlands), 21, 1 (2002), 59—79.03—236 Brandl, Klaus (U. of Washington, USA; Email: brandl@u.washington.edu). Integrating Internet-based reading materials into the foreign language curriculum: From teacher- to student-centred approaches. Language Learning and Technology (http://llt.msu.edu/), 6, 3 (2002), 87—107.03—237 Bruce, Nigel (Hong Kong U.; Email: njbruce@hku.hk). Dovetailing language and content: Teaching balanced argument in legal problem answer writing. English for Specific Purposes (Amsterdam, The Netherlands), 21, 4 (2002), 321—45.03—238 Bruton, Anthony (U. of Seville, Spain; Email: abruton@siff.us.es). From tasking purposes to purposing tasks. ELT Journal (Oxford, UK), 56, 3 (2002), 280—95.03—239 Candlin, C. N. (Email: enopera@cityu.edu.hk), Bhatia, V. K. and Jensen, C. H. (City U. of Hong Kong). Developing legal writing materials for English second language learners: Problems and perspectives. English for Specific Purposes (Amsterdam, The Netherlands), 21, 4 (2002), 299—320.03—240 Chen, Shumei. A contrastive study of complimentary responses in British English and Chinese, with pedagogic implications for ELT in China. Language Issues (Birmingham, UK), 13, 2 (2001), 8—11.03—241 Chudak, Sebastian (Adam-Mickiewicz-Universität, Poznán, Poland). Die Selbstevaluation im Prozess- und Lernerorientierten Fremdsprachenunterricht (Bedeutung, Ziele, Umsetzungsmöglichkeiten). [The self-evaluation of process- and learner-oriented foreign language teaching.] Glottodidactica (Poznań, Poland), 28 (2002), 49—63.03—242 Crosling, Glenda and Ward, Ian (Monash U., Clayton, Australia; Email: glenda.crosling@buseco.monash.edu.au). Oral communication: The workplace needs and uses of business graduate employees. English for Specific Purposes (Amsterdam, The Netherlands), 21, 1 (2002), 41—57.03—243 Davidheiser, James (U. of the South, USA). Classroom approaches to communication: Teaching German with TPRS (Total Physical Response Storytelling). Die Unterrichtspraxis/Teaching German (Cherry Hill, NJ, USA), 35, 1 (2002), 25—35.03—244 Duff, Patricia A. (U. of British Columbia, Canada; Email: patricia.duff@ubc.ca). The discursive co-construction of knowledge, identity, and difference: An ethnography of communication in the high school mainstream. Applied Linguistics (Oxford, UK), 23, 3 (2002), 289—322.03—245 Egbert, Joy (Washington State U., USA; Email: egbert@wsunix.wsu.edu), Paulus, Trena M. and Nakamichi, Yoko. The impact of CALL instruction on classroom computer use: A foundation for rethinking technology in teacher education. Language Learning and Technology (http://llt.msu.edu/), 6, 3 (2002), 108—26.03—246 Einbeck, Kandace (U. of Colorado at Boulder, USA). Using literature to promote cultural fluency in study abroad programs. Die Unterrichtspraxis/Teaching German (Cherry Hill, NJ, USA), 35, 1 (2002), 59—67.03—247 Fallon, Jean M. (Hollins U., Virginia, USA). On foreign ground: One attempt at attracting non-French majors to a French Studies course. Foreign Language Annals (New York, USA), 35, 4 (2002), 405—13.03—248 Furuhata, Hamako (Mount Union Coll., Ohio, USA; Email: furuhah@muc.edu). Learning Japanese in America: A survey of preferred teaching methods. Language, Culture and Curriculum (Clevedon, UK), 15, 2 (2002), 134—42.03—249 Goldstein, Tara (Ontario Inst. for Studies in Ed., U. of Toronto, Canada). No Pain, No Gain: Student playwriting as critical ethnographic language research. The Canadian Modern Language Review/La Revue canadienne des langues vivantes (Toronto, Ont.), 59, 1 (2002), 53—76.03—250 Hu, Guangwei (Nanyang Technological U., Singapore; Email: gwhu@nie.edu.sg). Potential cultural resistance to pedagogical imports: The case of communicative language teaching in China. Language, Culture and Curriculum (Clevedon, UK), 15, 2 (2002), 93—105.03—251 Huang, Jingzi (Monmouth U., New Jersey, USA; Email: jhuang@monmouth.edu). Activities as a vehicle for linguistic and sociocultural knowledge at the elementary level. Language Teaching Research (London, UK), 7, 1 (2003), 3—33.03—252 Hyland, Ken (City U. of Hong Kong; Email: ken.hyland@cityu.edu.hk). Specificity revisited: How far should we go now? English for Specific Purposes (Amsterdam, The Netherlands), 21, 4 (2002), 385—95.03—253 Jahr, Silke. Die Vermittlung des sprachen Ausdrucks von Emotionen in DaF-Unterricht. [The conveying of the oral expression of emotion in teaching German as a foreign language.] Deutsch als Fremdsprache (Berlin, Germany), 39, 2 (2002), 88–95.03—254 Jung, Yunhee (U. of Alberta, Canada; Email: jhee6539@hanmail.net). Historical review of grammar instruction and current implications. English Teaching (Korea), 57, 3 (2002), 193—213.03—255 Kagan, Olga and Dillon, Kathleen (UCLA, USA & UC Consortium for Language Teaching and Learning, USA). A new perspective on teaching Russian: Focus on the heritage learner. Slavonic and East European Journal (Tucson, Arizona, USA), 45, 3 (2001), 507—18.03—256 Kang, Hoo-Dong (Sungsim Coll. of Foreign Languages, Korea; Email: hdkang2k@hanmail.net). Tracking or detracking?: Teachers' views of tracking in Korean secondary schools. English Teaching (Korea), 57, 3 (2002), 41—57.03—257 Kramsch, Claire (U. of California at Berkeley, USA). Language, culture and voice in the teaching of English as a foreign language. Language Issues (Birmingham, UK), 13, 2 (2001), 2—7.03—258 Krishnan, Lakshmy A. and Lee, Hwee Hoon (Nanyang Tech. U., Singapore; Email: clbhaskar@ntu.edu.sg). Diaries: Listening to ‘voices’ from the multicultural classroom. ELT Journal (Oxford, UK), 56, 3 (2002), 227—39.03—259 Lasagabaster, David and Sierra, Juan Manuel (U. of the Basque Country, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain; Email: fiblahed@vc.ehu.es). University students' perceptions of native and non-native speaker teachers of English. Language Awareness (Clevedon, UK), 11, 2 (2002), 132—42.03—260 Lennon, Paul. Authentische Texte im Grammatikunterricht. [Authentic texts in grammar teaching.] Praxis des neusprachlichen Unterrichts (Berlin, Germany), 49, 3 (2002), 227–36.03—261 Lepetit, Daniel (Clemson U., USA; Email: dlepetit@mail.clemson.edu) and Cichocki, Wladyslaw. Teaching languages to future health professionals: A needs assessment study. The Modern Language Journal (Malden, MA, USA), 86, 3 (2002), 384—96.03—262 Łȩska-Drajerczak, Iwona (Adam Mickiewicz U., Poznán, Poland). Selected aspects of job motivation as seen by EFL teachers. Glottodidactica (Poznán, Poland), 28 (2002), 103—12.03—263 Liontas, John I. (U. of Notre-Dame, USA). ZOOMANIA: The See-Hear-and-Do approach to FL teaching and learning. Die Unterrichtspraxis/Teaching German (Cherry Hill, NJ, USA), 35, 1 (2002), 36—58.03—264 Littlemore, Jeannette (Birmingham U., UK). Developing metaphor interpretation strategies for students of economics: A case study. Les Cahiers de l'APLIUT (Grenoble, France), 21, 4 (2002) 40—60.03—265 Mantero, Miguel (The U. of Alabama, USA). Bridging the gap: Discourse in text-based foreign language classrooms. Foreign Language Annals (New York, USA), 35, 4 (2002), 437—56.03—266 Martin, William M. (U. of Pennsylvania, USA) and Lomperis, Anne E.. Determining the cost benefit, the return on investment, and the intangible impacts of language programmes for development. TESOL Quarterly (Alexandria, VA, USA), 36, 3 (2002), 399—429.03—267 Master, Peter (San Jose State U., CA, USA: Email: pmaster@sjsu.edu). Information structure and English article pedagogy. System (Oxford, UK), 30, 3 (2002), 331—48.03—268 Mertens, Jürgen. Schrift im Französischunterricht in der Grundschule: Lernehemnis oder Lernhilfe? [Writing in teaching French in primary school: Learning aid or hindrance?] Neusprachliche Mitteilungen aus Wissenschaft und Praxis (Berlin, Germany), 55, 3 (2002), 141–49.03—269 Meskill, Carla (U. at Albany, USA; Email: cmeskill@uamail.albany.edu), Mossop, Jonathan, DiAngelo, Stephen and Pasquale, Rosalie K.. Expert and novice teachers talking technology: Precepts, concepts, and misconcepts. Language Learning and Technology (http://llt.msu.edu/), 6, 3 (2002), 46—57.03—270 Mitchell, Rosamond and Lee, Jenny Hye-Won (U. of Southampton, UK; Email: rfm3@soton.ac.uk). Sameness and difference in classroom learning cultures: Interpretations of communicative pedagogy in the UK and Korea. Language Teaching Research (London, UK), 7, 1 (2003), 35—63.03—271 Mohan, Bernard (U. of British Columbia, Canada; Email: bernard.mohan@ubc.ca) and Huang, Jingzi. Assessing the integration of language and content in a Mandarin as a foreign language classroom. Linguistics and Education (New York, USA), 13, 3 (2002), 405—33.03—272 Mori, Junko (U. of Wisconsin-Madison, USA; Email: jmori@facstaff.wisc.edu). Task design, plan, and development of talk-in-interaction: An analysis of a small group activity in a Japanese language classroom. Applied Linguistics (Oxford, UK), 23, 3 (2002), 323—47.03—273 O'Sullivan, Emer (Johann Wolfgang Goethe-U. Frankfurt, Germany; Email: osullivan@em.uni-frankfurt.de) and Rösler, Dietmar. Fremdsprachenlernen und Kinder-und Jugendliteratur: Eine kritische Bestandaufsnahme. [Foreign language learning and children's literature: A critical appraisal.] Zeitschrift für Fremdsprachenforschung (Germany), 13, 1 (2002), 63—111.03—274 Pfeiffer, Waldemar (Europa Universität Viadrina – Frankfurt an der Oder, Germany). Möglichkeiten und Grenzen der interkulturellen Sprachvermittlung. [The possibilities and limits of intercultural language teaching.] Glottodidactica (Poznán, Poland), 28 (2002), 125—39.03—275 Rebel, Karlheinz (U. Tübingen, Germany) and Wilson, Sybil. Das Portfolio in Schule und Lehrerbildung (I). [The portfolio in school and the image of a teacher (I).] Fremdsprachenunterricht (Berlin, Germany), 4 (2002), 263–71.03—276 Sonaiya, Remi (Obafemi Awolowo U., Ile-ife, Nigeria). 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‘Complex(ity)’ is currently fashionable in the humanities. Fashions come and go, but in this article I argue that the interest in complexity connects with something deeper, an intellectual revolution that began before complexity became trendy, and will continue after the spotlight passes on. Yet to make this case, and understand and advance this revolution, we need a better take on ‘complexity’. ‘Complex’ is of course complex. In common use it refers to something ‘composed of many interrelated parts’, or problems ‘so complicated or intricate as to be hard to deal with’. I will call this popular meaning, with its positive and negative values, complexity-1. In science it has a more negative sense, complexity-2, referring to the presenting complexity of problems, which science will strip down to underlying simplicity. But recently it has developed positive meanings in both science and humanities. Complexity-3 marks a revolutionarily more positive attitude to complexity in science that does seek to be reductive. Humanities-style complexity-4, which acknowledges and celebrates the inherent complexity of texts and meanings, is basic in contemporary Media and Cultural studies (MaC for short). The underlying root of complex is plico bend or fold, plus con- together, via complector grasp (something), encompass an idea, or person. The double of ‘complex’ is ‘simple’, from Latin simplex, which less obviously also comes from plico, plus semel once, at the same time. ‘Simple’ and ‘complex’ are closer than people think: only a fold or two apart. A key idea is that these elements are interdependent, parts of a single underlying form. ‘Simple(x)’ is another modality of ‘complex’, dialectically related, different in degree not kind, not absolutely opposite. The idea of ‘holding together’ is stronger in Latin complex, the idea of difficulty more prominent in modern usage, yet the term still includes both. The concept ‘complex’ is untenable apart from ‘simple’. This figure maps the basic structures in ‘complexity’. This complexity contains both positive and negative values, science and non-science, academic and popular meanings, with folds/differences and relationships so dynamically related that no aspect is totally independent. This complex field is the minimum context in which to explore claims about a ‘complexity revolution’. Complexity in Science and Humanities In spite of the apparent similarities between Complexity-3 (sciences) and 4 (humanities), in practice a gulf separates them, policed from both sides. If these sides do not talk to each other, as they often do not, the result is not a complex meaning for ‘complex’, but a semantic war-zone. These two forms of complexity connect and collide because they reach into a new space where discourses of science and non-science are interacting more than they have for many years. For many, in both academic communities, a strong, taken-for-granted mindset declares the difference between them is absolute. They assume that if ‘complexity’ exists in science, it must mean something completely different from what it means in humanities or everyday discourse, so different as to be incomprehensible or unusable by humanists. This terrified defence of the traditional gulf between sciences and humanities is not the clinching argument these critics think. On the contrary, it symptomises what needs to be challenged, via the concept complex. One influential critic of this split was Lord Snow, who talked of ‘two cultures’. Writing in class-conscious post-war Britain he regretted the ignorance of humanities-trained ruling elites about basic science, and scientists’ ignorance of humanities. No-one then or now doubts there is a problem. Most MaC students have a science-light education, and feel vulnerable to critiques which say they do not need to know any science or maths, including complexity science, and could not understand it anyway. To understand how this has happened I go back to the 17th century rise of ‘modern science’. The Royal Society then included the poet Dryden as well as the scientist Newton, but already the fissure between science and humanities was emerging in the elite, re-enforcing existing gaps between both these and technology. The three forms of knowledge and their communities continued to develop over the next 400 years, producing the education system which formed most of us, the structure of academic knowledges in which culture, technology and science form distinct fields. Complexity has been implicated in this three-way split. Influenced by Newton’s wonderful achievement, explaining so much (movements of earthly and heavenly bodies) with so little (three elegant laws of motion, one brief formula), science defined itself as a reductive practice, in which complexity was a challenge. Simplicity was the sign of a successful solution, altering the older reciprocity between simplicity and complexity. The paradox was ignored that proof involved highly complex mathematics, as anyone who reads Newton knows. What science held onto was the outcome, a simplicity then retrospectively attributed to the universe itself, as its true nature. Simplicity became a core quality in the ontology of science, with complexity-2 the imperfection which challenged and provoked science to eliminate it. Humanities remained a refuge for a complexity ontology, in which both problems and solutions were irreducibly complex. Because of the dominance of science as a form of knowing, the social sciences developed a reductivist approach opposing traditional humanities. They also waged bitter struggles against anti-reductionists who emerged in what was called ‘social theory’. Complexity-4 in humanities is often associated with ‘post-structuralism’, as in Derrida, who emphasises the irreducible complexity of every text and process of meaning, or ‘postmodernism’, as in Lyotard’s controversial, influential polemic. Lyotard attempted to take the pulse of contemporary Western thought. Among trends he noted were new forms of science, new relationships between science and humanities, and a new kind of logic pervading all branches of knowledge. Not all Lyotard’s claims have worn well, but his claim that something really important is happening in the relationship between kinds and institutions of knowledge, especially between sciences and humanities, is worth serious attention. Even classic sociologists like Durkheim recognised that the modern world is highly complex. Contemporary sociologists agree that ‘globalisation’ introduces new levels of complexity in its root sense, interconnections on a scale never seen before. Urry argues that the hyper-complexity of the global world requires a complexity approach, combining complexity-3 and 4. Lyotard’s ‘postmodernism’ has too much baggage, including dogmatic hostility to science. Humanities complexity-4 has lost touch with the sceptical side of popular complexity-1, and lacks a dialectic relationship with simplicity. ‘Complexity’, incorporating Complexity-1 and 3, popular and scientific, made more complex by incorporating humanities complexity-4, may prove a better concept for thinking creatively and productively about these momentous changes. Only complex complexity in the approach, flexible and interdisciplinary, can comprehend these highly complex new objects of knowledge. Complexity and the New Condition of Science Some important changes in the way science is done are driven not from above, by new theories or discoveries, but by new developments in social contexts. Gibbons and Nowottny identify new forms of knowledge and practice, which they call ‘mode-2 knowledge’, emerging alongside older forms. Mode-1 is traditional academic knowledge, based in universities, organised in disciplines, relating to real-life problems at one remove, as experts to clients or consultants to employers. Mode-2 is orientated to real life problems, interdisciplinary and collaborative, producing provisional, emergent knowledge. Gibbons and Nowottny do not reference postmodernism but are looking at Lyotard’s trends as they were emerging in practice 10 years later. They do not emphasise complexity, but the new objects of knowledge they address are fluid, dynamic and highly complex. They emphasise a new scale of interdisciplinarity, in collaborations between academics across all disciplines, in science, technology, social sciences and humanities, though they do not see a strong role for humanities. This approach confronts and welcomes irreducible complexity in object and methods. It takes for granted that real-life problems will always be too complex (with too many factors, interrelated in too many ways) to be reduced to the sort of problem that isolated disciplines could handle. The complexity of objects requires equivalent complexity in responses; teamwork, using networks, drawing on relevant knowledge wherever it is to be found. Lyotard famously and foolishly predicted the death of the ‘grand narrative’ of science, but Gibbons and Nowottny offer a more complex picture in which modes-1 and 2 will continue alongside each other in productive dialectic. The linear form of science Lyotard attacked is stronger than ever in some ways, as ‘Big Science’, which delivers wealth and prestige to disciplinary scientists, accessing huge funds to solve highly complex problems with a reductionist mindset. But governments also like the idea of mode-2 knowledge, under whatever name, and try to fund it despite resistance from powerful mode-1 academics. Moreover, non-reductionist science in practice has always been more common than the dominant ideology allowed, whether or not its exponents, some of them eminent scientists, chose to call it ‘complexity’ science. Quantum physics, called ‘the new physics’, consciously departed from the linear, reductionist assumptions of Newtonian physics to project an irreducibly complex picture of the quantum world. Different movements, labelled ‘catastrophe theory’, ‘chaos theory’ and ‘complexity science’, emerged, not a single coherent movement replacing the older reductionist model, but loosely linked by new attitudes to complexity. Instead of seeing chaos and complexity as problems to be removed by analysis, chaos and complexity play a more ambiguous role, as ontologically primary. Disorder and complexity are not later regrettable lapses from underlying essential simplicity and order, but potentially creative resources, to be understood and harnessed, not feared, controlled, eliminated. As a taste of exciting ideas on complexity, barred from humanities MaC students by the general prohibition on ‘consorting with the enemy’ (science), I will outline three ideas, originally developed in complexity-3, which can be described in ways requiring no specialist knowledge or vocabulary, beyond a Mode-2 openness to dynamic, interdisciplinary engagement. Fractals, a term coined by mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot, are so popular as striking shapes produced by computer-graphics, circulated on T-shirts, that they may seem superficial, unscientific, trendy. They exist at an intersection between science, media and culture, and their complexity includes transactions across that folded space. The name comes from Latin fractus, broken: irregular shapes like broken shards, which however have their own pattern. Mandelbrot claims that in nature, many such patterns partly repeat on different scales. When this happens, he says, objects on any one scale will have equivalent complexity. Part of this idea is contained in Blake’s famous line: ‘To see the world in a grain of sand’. The importance of the principle is that it fundamentally challenges reductiveness. Nor is it as unscientific as it may sound. Geologists indeed see grains of sand under a microscope as highly complex. In sociology, instead of individuals (literal meaning ‘cannot be divided’) being the minimally simple unit of analysis, individuals can be understood to be as complex (e.g. with multiple identities, linked with many other social beings) as groups, classes or nations. There is no level where complexity disappears. A second concept is ‘fuzzy logic’, invented by an engineer, Zadeh. The basic idea is not unlike the literary critic Empson’s ‘ambiguity’, the sometimes inexhaustible complexity of meanings in great literature. Zadeh’s contribution was to praise the inherent ambiguity and ambiguity of natural languages as a resource for scientists and engineers, making them better, not worse, for programming control systems. Across this apparently simple bridge have flowed many fuzzy machines, more effective than their over-precise brothers. Zadeh crystallised this wisdom in his ‘Principle of incompatibility’: As the complexity of a system increases, our ability to make precise and yet significant statements about its behaviour decreases until a threshold is reached beyond which precision and significance (or relevance) become almost mutually exclusive characteristics (28) Something along these lines is common wisdom in complexity-1. For instance, under the headline “Law is too complex for juries to understand, says judge” (Dick 4), the Chief Justice of Australia, Murray Gleeson, noted a paradox of complexity, that attempts to improve a system by increasing its complexity make it worse (meaningless or irrelevant, as Zadeh said). The system loses its complexity in another sense, that it no longer holds together. My third concept is the ‘Butterfly Effect’, a name coined by Lorenz. The butterfly was this scientist’s poetic fantasy, an imagined butterfly that flaps its wings somewhere on the Andes, and introduces a small change in the weather system that triggers a hurricane in Montana, or Beijing. This idea is another riff on the idea that complex situations are not reducible to component elements. Every cause is so complex that we can never know in advance just what factor will operate in a given situation, or what its effects might be across a highly complex system. Travels in Complexity I will now explore these issues with reference to a single example, or rather, a nested set of examples, each (as in fractal theory) equivalently complex, yet none identical at any scale. I was travelling in a train from Penrith to Sydney in New South Wales in early 2006 when I read a publicity text from NSW State Rail which asked me: ‘Did you know that delays at Sydenham affect trains to Parramatta? Or that a sick passenger on a train at Berowra can affect trains to Penrith?’ No, I did not know that. As a typical commuter I was impressed, and even more so as an untypical commuter who knows about complexity science. Without ostentatious reference to sources in popular science, NSW Rail was illustrating Lorenz’s ‘butterfly effect’. A sick passenger is prosaic, a realistic illustration of the basic point, that in a highly complex system, a small change in one part, so small that no-one could predict it would matter, can produce a massive, apparently unrelated change in another part. This text was part of a publicity campaign with a scientific complexity-3 subtext, which ran in a variety of forms, in their website, in notices in carriages, on the back of tickets. I will use a complexity framework to suggest different kinds of analysis and project which might interest MaC students, applicable to objects that may not refer to be complexity-3. The text does two distinct things. It describes a planning process, and is part of a publicity program. The first, simplifying movement of Mode-1 analysis would see this difference as projecting two separate objects for two different specialists: a transport expert for the planning, a MaC analyst for the publicity, including the image. Unfortunately, as Zadeh warned, in complex conditions simplification carries an explanatory cost, producing descriptions that are meaningless or irrelevant, even though common sense (complexity-1) says otherwise. What do MaC specialists know about rail systems? What do engineers know about publicity? But collaboration in a mode-2 framework does not need extensive specialist knowledge, only enough to communicate with others. MaC specialists have a fuzzy knowledge of their own and other areas of knowledge, attuned by Humanities complexity-4 to tolerate uncertainty. According to the butterfly principle it would be foolish to wish our University education had equipped us with the necessary other knowledges. We could never predict what precise items of knowledge would be handy from our formal and informal education. The complexity of most mode-2 problems is so great that we cannot predict in advance what we will need to know. MaC is already a complex field, in which ‘Media’ and ‘Culture’ are fuzzy terms which interact in different ways. Media and other organisations we might work with are often imbued with linear forms of thought (complexity-2), and want simple answers to simple questions about complex systems. For instance, MaC researchers might be asked as consultants to determine the effect of this message on typical commuters. That form of analysis is no longer respectable in complexity-4 MaC studies. Old-style (complexity-2) effects-research modelled Senders, Messages and Receivers to measure effects. Standard research methods of complexity-2 social sciences might test effects of the message by a survey instrument, with a large sample to allow statistically significant results. Using this, researchers could claim to know whether the publicity campaign had its desired effect on its targeted demographic: presumably inspiring confidence in NSW Rail. However, each of these elements is complex, and interactions between them, and others that don’t enter into the analysis, create further levels of complexity. To manage this complexity, MaC analysts often draw on Foucault’s authority to use ‘discourse’ to simplify analysis. This does not betray the principle of complexity. Complexity-4 needs a simplicity-complexity dialectic. In this case I propose a ‘complexity discourse’ to encapsulate the complex relations between Senders, Receivers and Messages into a single word, which can then be related to other such elements (e.g. ‘publicity discourse’). In this case complexity-3 can also be produced by attending to details of elements in the S-M-R chain, combining Derridean ‘deconstruction’ with expert knowledge of the situation. This Sender may be some combination of engineers and planners, managers who commissioned the advertisement, media professionals who carried it out. The message likewise loses its unity as its different parts decompose into separate messages, leaving the transaction a fraught, unpredictable encounter between multiple messages and many kinds of reader and sender. Alongside its celebration of complexity-3, this short text runs another message: ‘untangling our complex rail network’. This is complexity-2 from science and engineering, where complexity is only a problem to be removed. A fuller text on the web-site expands this second strand, using bullet points and other signals of a linear approach. In this text, there are 5 uses of ‘reliable’, 6 uses of words for problems of complexity (‘bottlenecks’, ‘delays’, ‘congestion’), and 6 uses of words for the new system (‘simpler’, ‘independent’). ‘Complex’ is used twice, both times negatively. In spite of the impression given by references to complexity-3, this text mostly has a reductionist attitude to complexity. Complexity is the enemy. Then there is the image. Each line is a different colour, and they loop in an attractive way, seeming to celebrate graceful complexity-2. Yet this part of the image is what is going to be eliminated by the new program’s complexity-2. The interesting complexity of the upper part of the image is what the text declares is the problem. What are commuters meant to think? And Railcorp? This media analysis identifies a fissure in the message, which reflects a fissure in the Sender-complex. It also throws up a problem in the culture that produced such interesting allusions to complexity science, but has linear, reductionist attitudes to complexity in its practice. We can ask: where does this cultural problem go, in the organisation, in the interconnected system and bureaucracy it manages? Is this culture implicated in the problems the program is meant to address? These questions are more productive if asked in a collaborative mode-2 framework, with an organisation open to such questions, with complex researchers able to move between different identities, as media analyst, cultural analyst, and commuter, interested in issues of organisation and logistics, engaged with complexity in all senses. I will continue my imaginary mode-2 collaboration with Railcorp by offering them another example of fractal analysis, looking at another instant, captured in a brief media text. On Wednesday 14 March, 2007, two weeks before a State government election, a very small cause triggered a systems failure in the Sydney network. A small carbon strip worth $44 which was not properly attached properly threw Sydney’s transport network into chaos on Wednesday night, causing thousands of commuters to be trapped in trains for hours. (Baker and Davies 7) This is an excellent example of a butterfly effect, but it is not labelled as such, nor regarded positively in this complexity-1 framework. ‘Chaos’ signifies something no-one wants in a transport system. This is popular not scientific reductionism. The article goes on to tell the story of one passenger, Mark MacCauley, a quadriplegic left without power or electricity in a train because the lift was not working. He rang City Rail, and was told that “someone would be in touch in 3 to 5 days” (Baker and Davies 7). He then rang emergency OOO, and was finally rescued by contractors “who happened to be installing a lift at North Sydney” (Baker and Davies 7). My new friends at NSW Rail would be very unhappy with this story. It would not help much to tell them that this is a standard ‘human interest’ article, nor that it is more complex than it looks. For instance, MacCauley is not typical of standard passengers who usually concern complexity-2 planners of rail networks. He is another butterfly, whose specific needs would be hard to predict or cater for. His rescue is similarly unpredictable. Who would have predicted that these contractors, with their specialist equipment, would be in the right place at the right time to rescue him? Complexity provided both problem and solution. The media’s double attitude to complexity, positive and negative, complexity-1 with a touch of complexity-3, is a resource which NSW Rail might learn to use, even though it is presented with such hostility here. One lesson of the complexity is that a tight, linear framing of systems and problems creates or exacerbates problems, and closes off possible solutions. In the problem, different systems didn’t connect: social and material systems, road and rail, which are all ‘media’ in McLuhan’s highly fuzzy sense. NSW Rail communication systems were cumbrously linear, slow (3 to 5 days) and narrow. In the solution, communication cut across institutional divisions, mediated by responsive, fuzzy complex humans. If the problem came from a highly complex system, the solution is a complex response on many fronts: planning, engineering, social and communication systems open to unpredictable input from other surrounding systems. As NSW Rail would have been well aware, the story responded to another context. The page was headed ‘Battle for NSW’, referring to an election in 2 weeks, in which this newspaper editorialised that the incumbent government should be thrown out. This political context is clearly part of the complexity of the newspaper message, which tries to link not just the carbon strip and ‘chaos’, but science and politics, this strip and the government’s credibility. Yet the government was returned with a substantial though reduced majority, not the swingeing defeat that might have been predicted by linear logic (rail chaos = electoral defeat) or by some interpretations of the butterfly effect. But complexity-3 does not say that every small cause produces catastrophic effects. On the contrary, it says that causal situations can be so complex that we can never be entirely sure what effects will follow from any given case. The political situation in all its complexity is an inseparable part of the minimal complex situation which NSW Rail must take into account as it considers how to reform its operations. It must make complexity in all its senses a friend and ally, not just a source of nasty surprises. My relationship with NSW Rail at the moment is purely imaginary, but illustrates positive and negative aspects of complexity as an organising principle for MaC researchers today. The unlimited complexity of Humanities’ complexity-4, Derridean and Foucauldian, can be liberating alongside the sometimes excessive scepticism of Complexity-2, but needs to keep in touch with the ambivalence of popular complexity-1. Complexity-3 connects with complexity-2 and 4 to hold the bundle together, in a more complex, cohesive, yet still unstable dynamic structure. It is this total sprawling, inchoate, contradictory (‘complex’) brand of complexity that I believe will play a key role in the up-coming intellectual revolution. But only time will tell. References Baker, Jordan, and Anne Davies. “Carbon Strip Caused Train Chaos.” Sydney Morning Herald 17 Mar. 2007: 7. Derrida, Jacques. Of Grammatology. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins, 1976. Dick, Tim. “Law Is Now Too Complex for Juries to Understand, Says Judge.” Sydney Morning Herald 26 Mar. 2007: 4. Empson, William. Seven Types of Ambiguity. London: Chatto and Windus, 1930. Foucault, Michel. “The Order of Discourse.” In Archaeology of Knowledge, trans. A.M Sheridan Smith. London: Tavistock, 1972. Gibbons, Michael. The New Production of Knowledge. London: Sage, 1994. Lorenz, Edward. The Essence of Chaos. London: University College, 1993. Lyotard, Jean-Francois. The Postmodern Condition. Manchester: Manchester UP, 1984. McLuhan, Marshall. Understanding Media. London: Routledge, 1964. Mandelbrot, Benoit. “The Fractal Geometry of Nature.” In Nina Hall, ed. The New Scientist Guide to Chaos. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1963. Nowottny, Henry. Rethinking Science. London: Polity, 2001. Snow, Charles Percy. The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution. London: Faber 1959. Urry, John. Global Complexity. London: Sage, 2003. Zadeh, Lotfi Asker. “Outline of a New Approach to the Analysis of Complex Systems and Decision Processes.” ILEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics 3.1 (1973): 28-44. Citation reference for this article MLA Style Hodge, Bob. "The Complexity Revolution." M/C Journal 10.3 (2007). echo date('d M. Y'); ?> <http://journal.media-culture.org.au/0706/01-hodge.php>. APA Style Hodge, B. (Jun. 2007) "The Complexity Revolution," M/C Journal, 10(3). Retrieved echo date('d M. Y'); ?> from <http://journal.media-culture.org.au/0706/01-hodge.php>.

The academic journal is obsolete. In a world where there are more titles than ever, this is a comment on their form – especially the print journal – rather than their quantity. Now that you can get everything online, it doesn’t really matter what journal a paper appears in; certainly it doesn’t matter what’s in the same issue. The experience of a journal is rapidly obsolescing, for both editors and readers. I’m obviously not the first person to notice this (see, for instance, "Scholarly Communication"; "Transforming Scholarly Communication"; Houghton; Policy Perspectives; Teute), but I do have a personal stake in the process. For if the journal is obsolete then it follows that the editor is obsolete, and I am the editor of the International Journal of Cultural Studies. I founded the IJCS and have been sole editor ever since. Next year will see the fiftieth issue. So far, I have been responsible for over 280 published articles – over 2.25 million words of other people’s scholarship … and counting. We won’t say anything about the words that did not get published, except that the IJCS rejection rate is currently 87 per cent. Perhaps the first point that needs to be made, then, is that obsolescence does not imply lack of success. By any standard the IJCS is a successful journal, and getting more so. It has recently been assessed as a top-rating A* journal in the Australian Research Council’s journal rankings for ERA (Excellence in Research for Australia), the newly activated research assessment exercise. (In case you’re wondering, M/C Journal is rated B.) The ARC says of the ranking exercise: ‘The lists are a result of consultations with the sector and rigorous review by leading researchers and the ARC.’ The ARC definition of an A* journal is given as: Typically an A* journal would be one of the best in its field or subfield in which to publish and would typically cover the entire field/ subfield. Virtually all papers they publish will be of very high quality. These are journals where most of the work is important (it will really shape the field) and where researchers boast about getting accepted.Acceptance rates would typically be low and the editorial board would be dominated by field leaders, including many from top institutions. (Appendix I, p. 21; and see p. 4.)Talking of boasting, I love to prate about the excellent people we’ve published in the IJCS. We have introduced new talent to the field, and we have published new work by some of its pioneers – including Richard Hoggart and Stuart Hall. We’ve also published – among many others – Sara Ahmed, Mohammad Amouzadeh, Tony Bennett, Goran Bolin, Charlotte Brunsdon, William Boddy, Nico Carpentier, Stephen Coleman, Nick Couldry, Sean Cubitt, Michael Curtin, Daniel Dayan, Ben Dibley, Stephanie Hemelryk Donald, John Frow, Elfriede Fursich, Christine Geraghty, Mark Gibson, Paul Gilroy, Faye Ginsberg, Jonathan Gray, Lawrence Grossberg, Judith Halberstam, Hanno Hardt, Gay Hawkins, Joke Hermes, Su Holmes, Desmond Hui, Fred Inglis, Henry Jenkins, Deborah Jermyn, Ariel Heryanto, Elihu Katz, Senator Rod Kemp (Australian government minister), Youna Kim, Agnes Ku, Richard E. Lee, Jeff Lewis, David Lodge (the novelist), Knut Lundby, Eric Ma, Anna McCarthy, Divya McMillin, Antonio Menendez-Alarcon, Toby Miller, Joe Moran, Chris Norris, John Quiggin, Chris Rojek, Jane Roscoe, Jeffrey Sconce, Lynn Spigel, John Storey, Su Tong, the late Sako Takeshi, Sue Turnbull, Graeme Turner, William Uricchio, José van Dijck, Georgette Wang, Jing Wang, Elizabeth Wilson, Janice Winship, Handel Wright, Wu Jing, Wu Qidi (Chinese Vice-Minister of Education), Emilie Yueh-Yu Yeh, Robert Young and Zhao Bin. As this partial list makes clear, as well as publishing the top ‘hegemons’ we also publish work pointing in new directions, including papers from neighbouring disciplines such as anthropology, area studies, economics, education, feminism, history, literary studies, philosophy, political science, and sociology. We have sought to represent neglected regions, especially Chinese cultural studies, which has grown strongly during the past decade. And for quite a few up-and-coming scholars we’ve been the proud host of their first international publication. The IJCS was first published in 1998, already well into the internet era, but it was print-only at that time. Since then, all content, from volume 1:1 onwards, has been digitised and is available online (although vol 1:2 is unaccountably missing). The publishers, Sage Publications Ltd, London, have steadily added online functionality, so that now libraries can get the journal in various packages, including offering this title among many others in online-only bundles, and individuals can purchase single articles online. Thus, in addition to institutional and individual subscriptions, which remain the core business of the journal, income is derived by the publisher from multi-site licensing, incremental consortial sales income, single- and back-issue sales (print), pay-per-view, and deep back file sales (electronic). So what’s obsolete about it? In that boasting paragraph of mine (above), about what wonderful authors we’ve published, lies one of the seeds of obsolescence. For now that it is available online, ‘users’ (no longer ‘readers’!) can search for what they want and ignore the journal as such altogether. This is presumably how most active researchers experience any journal – they are looking for articles (or less: quotations; data; references) relevant to a given topic, literature review, thesis etc. They encounter a journal online through its ‘content’ rather than its ‘form.’ The latter is irrelevant to them, and may as well not exist. The Cover Some losses are associated with this change. First is the loss of the front cover. Now you, dear reader, scrolling through this article online, might well complain, why all the fuss about covers? Internet-generation journals don’t have covers, so all of the work that goes into them to establish the brand, the identity and even the ‘affect’ of a journal is now, well, obsolete. So let me just remind you of what’s at stake. Editors, designers and publishers all take a good deal of trouble over covers, since they are the point of intersection of editorial, design and marketing priorities. Thus, the IJCS cover contains the only ‘content’ of the journal for which we pay a fee to designers and photographers (usually the publisher pays, but in one case I did). Like any other cover, ours has three main elements: title, colour and image. Thought goes into every detail. Title I won’t say anything about the journal’s title as such, except that it was the result of protracted discussions (I suggested Terra Nullius at one point, but Sage weren’t having any of that). The present concern is with how a title looks on a cover. Our title-typeface is Frutiger. Originally designed by Adrian Frutiger for Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, it is suitably international, being used for the corporate identity of the UK National Health Service, Telefónica O2, the Royal Navy, the London School of Economics , the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the Conservative Party of Canada, Banco Bradesco of Brazil, the Finnish Defence Forces and on road signs in Switzerland (Wikipedia, "Frutiger"). Frutiger is legible, informal, and reads well in small copy. Sage’s designer and I corresponded on which of the words in our cumbersome name were most important, agreeing that ‘international’ combined with ‘cultural’ is the USP (Unique Selling Point) of the journal, so they should be picked out (in bold small-caps) from the rest of the title, which the designer presented in a variety of Frutiger fonts (regular, italic, and reversed – white on black), presumably to signify the dynamism and diversity of our content. The word ‘studies’ appears on a lozenge-shaped cartouche that is also used as a design element throughout the journal, for bullet points, titles and keywords. Colour We used to change this every two years, but since volume 7 it has stabilised with the distinctive Pantone 247, ‘new fuchsia.’ This colour arose from my own environment at QUT, where it was chosen (by me) for the new Creative Industries Faculty’s academic gowns and hoods, and thence as a detailing colour for the otherwise monochrome Creative Industries Precinct buildings. There’s a lot of it around my office, including on the wall and the furniture. New Fuchsia is – we are frequently told – a somewhat ‘girly’ colour, especially when contrasted with the Business Faculty’s blue or Law’s silver; its similarity to the Girlfriend/Dolly palette does introduce a mild ‘politics of prestige’ element, since it is determinedly pop culture, feminised, and non-canonical. Image Right at the start, the IJCS set out to signal its difference from other journals. At that time, all Sage journals had calligraphic colours – but I was insistent that we needed a photograph (I have ‘form’ in this respect: in 1985 I changed the cover of the Australian Journal of Cultural Studies from a line drawing (albeit by Sydney Nolan) to a photograph; and I co-designed the photo-cover of Cultural Studies in 1987). For IJCS I knew which photo I wanted, and Sage went along with the choice. I explained it in the launch issue’s editorial (Hartley, "Editorial"). That original picture, a goanna on a cattle grid in the outback, by Australian photographer Grant Hobson, lasted ten years. Since volume 11 – in time for our second decade – the goanna has been replaced with a picture by Italian-based photographer Patrick Nicholas, called ‘Reality’ (Hartley, "Cover Narrative"). We have also used two other photos as cover images, once each. They are: Daniel Meadows’s 1974 ‘Karen & Barbara’ (Hartley, "Who"); and a 1962 portrait of Richard Hoggart from the National Portrait Gallery in London (Owen & Hartley 2007). The choice of picture has involved intense – sometimes very tense – negotiations with Sage. Most recently, they were adamant the Daniel Meadows picture, which I wanted to use as the long-term replacement of the goanna, was too ‘English’ and they would not accept it. We exchanged rather sharp words before compromising. There’s no need to rehearse the dispute here; the point is that both sides, publisher and editor, felt that vital interests were at stake in the choice of a cover-image. Was it too obscure; too Australian; too English; too provocative (the current cover features, albeit in the deep background, a TV screen-shot of a topless Italian game-show contestant)? Running Order Beyond the cover, the next obsolete feature of a journal is the running order of articles. Obviously what goes in the journal is contingent upon what has been submitted and what is ready at a given time, so this is a creative role within a very limited context, which is what makes it pleasurable. Out of a limited number of available papers, a choice must be made about which one goes first, what order the other papers should follow, and which ones must be held over to the next issue. The first priority is to choose the lead article: like the ‘first face’ in a fashion show (if you don’t know what I mean by that, see FTV.com. It sets the look, the tone, and the standard for the issue. I always choose articles I like for this slot. It sends a message to the field – look at this! Next comes the running order. We have about six articles per issue. It is important to maintain the IJCS’s international mix, so I check for the country of origin, or failing that (since so many articles come from Anglosphere countries like the USA, UK and Australia), the location of the analysis. Attention also has to be paid to the gender balance among authors, and to the mix of senior and emergent scholars. Sometimes a weak article needs to be ‘hammocked’ between two good ones (these are relative terms – everything published in the IJCS is of a high scholarly standard). And we need to think about disciplinary mix, so as not to let the journal stray too far towards one particular methodological domain. Running order is thus a statement about the field – the disciplinary domain – rather than about an individual paper. It is a proposition about how different voices connect together in some sort of disciplinary syntax. One might even claim that the combination of cover and running order is a last vestige of collegiate collectivism in an era of competitive academic individualism. Now all that matters is the individual paper and author; the ‘currency’ is tenure, promotion and research metrics, not relations among peers. The running order is obsolete. Special Issues An extreme version of running order is the special issue. The IJCS has regularly published these; they are devoted to field-shaping initiatives, as follows: Title Editor(s) Issue Date Radiocracy: Radio, Development and Democracy Amanda Hopkinson, Jo Tacchi 3.2 2000 Television and Cultural Studies Graeme Turner 4.4 2001 Cultural Studies and Education Karl Maton, Handel Wright 5.4 2002 Re-Imagining Communities Sara Ahmed, Anne-Marie Fortier 6.3 2003 The New Economy, Creativity and Consumption John Hartley 7.1 2004 Creative Industries and Innovation in China Michael Keane, John Hartley 9.3 2006 The Uses of Richard Hoggart Sue Owen, John Hartley 10.1 2007 A Cultural History of Celebrity Liz Barry 11.3 2008 Caribbean Media Worlds Anna Pertierra, Heather Horst 12.2 2009 Co-Creative Labour Mark Deuze, John Banks 12.5 2009 It’s obvious that special issues have a place in disciplinary innovation – they can draw attention in a timely manner to new problems, neglected regions, or innovative approaches, and thus they advance the field. They are indispensible. But because of online publication, readers are not held to the ‘project’ of a special issue and can pick and choose whatever they want. And because of the peculiarities of research assessment exercises, editing special issues doesn’t count as research output. The incentive to do them is to that extent reduced, and some universities are quite heavy-handed about letting academics ‘waste’ time on activities that don’t produce ‘metrics.’ The special issue is therefore threatened with obsolescence too. Refereeing In many top-rating journals, the human side of refereeing is becoming obsolete. Increasingly this labour-intensive chore is automated and the labour is technologically outsourced from editors and publishers to authors and referees. You have to log on to some website and follow prompts in order to contribute both papers and the assessment of papers; interactions with editors are minimal. At the IJCS the process is still handled by humans – namely, journal administrator Tina Horton and me. We spend a lot of time checking how papers are faring, from trying to find the right referees through to getting the comments and then the author’s revisions completed in time for a paper to be scheduled into an issue. The volume of email correspondence is considerable. We get to know authors and referees. So we maintain a sense of an interactive and conversational community, albeit by correspondence rather than face to face. Doubtless, sooner or later, there will be a depersonalised Text Management System. But in the meantime we cling to the romantic notion that we are involved in refereeing for the sake of the field, for raising the standard of scholarship, for building a globally dispersed virtual college of cultural studies, and for giving everyone – from unfavoured countries and neglected regions to famous professors in old-money universities – the same chance to get their research published. In fact, these are largely delusional ideals, for as everyone knows, refereeing is part of the political economy of publicly-funded research. It’s about academic credentials, tenure and promotion for the individual, and about measurable research metrics for the academic organisation or funding agency (Hartley, "Death"). The IJCS has no choice but to participate: we do what is required to qualify as a ‘double-blind refereed journal’ because that is the only way to maintain repute, and thence the flow of submissions, not to mention subscriptions, without which there would be no journal. As with journals themselves, which proliferate even as the print form becomes obsolete, so refereeing is burgeoning as a practice. It’s almost an industry, even though the currency is not money but time: part gift-economy; part attention-economy; partly the payment of dues to the suzerain funding agencies. But refereeing is becoming obsolete in the sense of gathering an ‘imagined community’ of people one might expect to know personally around a particular enterprise. The process of dispersal and anonymisation of the field is exacerbated by blind refereeing, which we do because we must. This is suited to a scientific domain of objective knowledge, but everyone knows it’s not quite like that in the ‘new humanities’. The agency and identity of the researcher is often a salient fact in the research. The embedded positionality of the author, their reflexiveness about their own context and room-for-manoeuvre, and the radical contextuality of knowledge itself – these are all more or less axiomatic in cultural studies, but they’re not easily served by ‘double-blind’ refereeing. When refereeing is depersonalised to the extent that is now rife (especially in journals owned by international commercial publishers), it is hard to maintain a sense of contextualised productivity in the knowledge domain, much less a ‘common cause’ to which both author and referee wish to contribute. Even though refereeing can still be seen as altruistic, it is in the service of something much more general (‘scholarship’) and much more particular (‘my career’) than the kind of reviewing that wants to share and improve a particular intellectual enterprise. It is this mid-range altruism – something that might once have been identified as a politics of knowledge – that’s becoming obsolete, along with the printed journals that were the banner and rallying point for the cause. If I were to start a new journal (such as cultural-science.org), I would prefer ‘open refereeing’: uploading papers on an open site, subjecting them to peer-review and criticism, and archiving revised versions once they have received enough votes and comments. In other words I’d like to see refereeing shifted from the ‘supply’ or production side of a journal to the ‘demand’ or readership side. But of course, ‘demand’ for ‘blind’ refereeing doesn’t come from readers; it comes from the funding agencies. The Reading Experience Finally, the experience of reading a journal is obsolete. Two aspects of this seem worthy of note. First, reading is ‘out of time’ – it no longer needs to conform to the rhythms of scholarly publication, which are in any case speeding up. Scholarship is no longer seasonal, as it has been since the Middle Ages (with university terms organised around agricultural and ecclesiastical rhythms). Once you have a paper’s DOI number, you can read it any time, 24/7. It is no longer necessary even to wait for publication. With some journals in our field (e.g. Journalism Studies), assuming your Library subscribes, you can access papers as soon as they’re uploaded on the journal’s website, before the published edition is printed. Soon this will be the norm, just as it is for the top science journals, where timely publication, and thereby the ability to claim first discovery, is the basis of intellectual property rights. The IJCS doesn’t (yet) offer this service, but its frequency is speeding up. It was launched in 1998 with three issues a year. It went quarterly in 2001 and remained a quarterly for eight years. It has recently increased to six issues a year. That too causes changes in the reading experience. The excited ripping open of the package is less of a thrill the more often it arrives. Indeed, how many subscribers will admit that sometimes they don’t even open the envelope? Second, reading is ‘out of place’ – you never have to see the journal in which a paper appears, so you can avoid contact with anything that you haven’t already decided to read. This is more significant than might first appear, because it is affecting journalism in general, not just academic journals. As we move from the broadcast to the broadband era, communicative usage is shifting too, from ‘mass’ communication to customisation. This is a mixed blessing. One of the pleasures of old-style newspapers and the TV news was that you’d come across stories you did not expect to find. Indeed, an important attribute of the industrial form of journalism is its success in getting whole populations to read or watch stories about things they aren’t interested in, or things like wars and crises that they’d rather not know about at all. That historic textual achievement is in jeopardy in the broadband era, because ‘the public’ no longer needs to gather around any particular masthead or bulletin to get their news. With Web 2.0 affordances, you can exercise much more choice over what you attend to. This is great from the point of view of maximising individual choice, but sub-optimal in relation to what I’ve called ‘population-gathering’, especially the gathering of communities of interest around ‘tales of the unexpected’ – novelty or anomalies. Obsolete: Collegiality, Trust and Innovation? The individuation of reading choices may stimulate prejudice, because prejudice (literally, ‘pre-judging’) is built in when you decide only to access news feeds about familiar topics, stories or people in which you’re already interested. That sort of thing may encourage narrow-mindedness. It is certainly an impediment to chance discovery, unplanned juxtaposition, unstructured curiosity and thence, perhaps, to innovation itself. This is a worry for citizenship in general, but it is also an issue for academic ‘knowledge professionals,’ in our ever-narrower disciplinary silos. An in-close specialist focus on one’s own area of expertise need no longer be troubled by the concerns of the person in the next office, never mind the next department. Now, we don’t even have to meet on the page. One of the advantages of whole journals, then, is that each issue encourages ‘macro’ as well as ‘micro’ perspectives, and opens reading up to surprises. This willingness to ‘take things on trust’ describes a ‘we’ community – a community of trust. Trust too is obsolete in these days of performance evaluation. We’re assessed by an anonymous system that’s managed by people we’ll never meet. If the ‘population-gathering’ aspects of print journals are indeed obsolete, this may reduce collegiate trust and fellow-feeling, increase individualist competitiveness, and inhibit innovation. In the face of that prospect, I’m going to keep on thinking about covers, running orders, referees and reading until the role of editor is obsolete too. ReferencesHartley, John. "'Cover Narrative': From Nightmare to Reality." International Journal of Cultural Studies 11.2 (2005): 131-137. ———. "Death of the Book?" Symposium of the National Scholarly Communication Forum & Australian Academy of the Humanities, Sydney Maritime Museum, 2005. 26 Apr. 2009 ‹http://www.humanities.org.au/Resources/Downloads/NSCF/RoundTables1-17/PDF/Hartley.pdf›. ———. 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