Hatretorikk: den intolerante språkbruken

The manifesto of the Norwegian terrorist Anders Behring Breivik is based on the “Eurabia” conspiracy theory. This theory is a key starting point for hate speech amongst many right-wing extremists in Europe, but also has ramifications beyond these environments. In brief, proponents of the Eurabia theory claim that Muslims are occupying Europe and destroying Western culture, with the assistance of the EU and European governments. By contrast, members of Al-Qaeda and other extreme Islamists promote the conspiracy theory “the Crusade” in their hate speech directed against the West. Proponents of the latter theory argue that the West is leading a crusade to eradicate Islam and Muslims, a crusade that is similarly facilitated by their governments. This article presents analyses of texts written by right-wing extremists and Muslim extremists in an effort to shed light on how hate speech promulgates conspiracy theories in order to spread hatred and intolerance. The aim of the article is to contribute to a more thorough understanding of hate speech’s nature by applying rhetorical analysis. Rhetorical analysis is chosen because it offers a means of understanding the persuasive power of speech. It is thus a suitable tool to describe how hate speech works to convince and persuade. The concepts from rhetorical theory used in this article are ethos, logos and pathos. The concept of ethos is used to pinpoint factors that contributed to Osama bin Laden's impact, namely factors that lent credibility to his promotion of the conspiracy theory of the Crusade. In particular, Bin Laden projected common sense, good morals and good will towards his audience. He seemed to have coherent and relevant arguments; he appeared to possess moral credibility; and his use of language demonstrated that he wanted the best for his audience. The concept of pathos is used to define hate speech, since hate speech targets its audience's emotions. In hate speech it is the emotions that prevail, rather than reason. Sensational and dramatic claims are used to exploit existing feelings of anger, irritation and fear. The speech is aimed at those who may be persuaded of its negative content, and who may spread the message further. A distinct feature is its absence of logos: argumentation aimed at listeners' reason. To the extent logos is used in hate speech it is for the most part only apparent logos. The speech is often based on falsehoods, exaggerations, stereotypes, over-generalisations, and startling formulations. Hate speech therefore requires an uncritical audience – an audience that is either unable to see through the fallacies, or unwilling to do so because the arguments and conclusions fit well with their worldview. The overall aim of the article is to contribute to a more thorough understanding of hate speech’s nature and its role in disseminating conspiracy theories. However, through analyses of text examples from al-Qaeda’s leader, Osama bin Laden, and right-wing European extremists the article also contributes to explaining the terror attack in Oslo in July 2011 and the terror attack on September 11, 2001, in New York and other similar acts of terror

Exploring interpreting for young children

The article presents a pilot study based on video-recordings of four experiments taking the form of encounters, each involving a Norwegian-speaking child, a woman speaking only in English and an interpreter. Taking the interpreter-mediated encounter as the basic research element, and applying an interactionist theoretical perspective, small children’s participation in these encounters is explored. The aim of the pilot study is to use the explorations of a few children’s interactions with one particular interpreter to generate hypotheses and identify new research areas that may be further investigated through a larger collection of data. Preliminary results indicate that a child as young as three has sufficient communicative competence to participate successfully in an interpreter-mediated encounter. In addition, the interpreter’s simultaneous speech in the other language did not seem to disrupt a child’s narrative. These findings need to be further explored through more extensive and naturally occurring data. An identified topic that needs further exploration is young children’s understanding of the nature of an interpreter’s specific mandate and responsibility during such interactio

Undersøkelse av støyplage ved norske flyplasser

-Det er gjennomført spørreundersøkelser om folks reaksjoner på støy ved fem norske flyplasser. Responsen er sammenlignet med tilsvarende undersøkelser internasjonalt. Resultatene viser at befolkningen i Norge gir uttrykk for å være mindre plaget enn gjennomsnittet internasjonalt. Resultatene indikerer at det ikke er noen grunn til å skjerpe grensene i Miljøverndepartementets retningslinje T-1442/2012 med hensyn på flystøy slik den reviderte utgaven av standarden ISO 1996 åpner for

Undersøkelse av støyplage ved norske flyplasser

-Det er gjennomført spørreundersøkelser om folks reaksjoner på støy ved fem norske flyplasser. Responsen er sammenlignet med tilsvarende undersøkelser internasjonalt. Resultatene viser at befolkningen i Norge gir uttrykk for å være mindre plaget enn gjennomsnittet internasjonalt. Resultatene indikerer at det ikke er noen grunn til å skjerpe grensene i Miljøverndepartementets retningslinje T-1442/2012 med hensyn på flystøy slik den reviderte utgaven av standarden ISO 1996 åpner for

Quantitative analysis of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging in malignant breast lesions using different b value combinations

OBJECTIVES: To explore how apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCs) in malignant breast lesions are affected by selection of b values in the monoexponential model and to compare ADCs with diffusion coefficients (Ds) obtained from the biexponential model. METHODS: Twenty-four women (mean age 51.3 years) with locally advanced breast cancer were included in this study. Pre-treatment diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging was performed using a 1.5-T system with b values of 0, 50, 100, 250 and 800 s/mm(2). Thirteen different b value combinations were used to derive individual monoexponential ADC maps. All b values were used in the biexponential model. RESULTS: Median ADC (including all b values) and D were 1.04 × 10(-3) mm(2)/s (range 0.82–1.61 × 10(-3) mm(2)/s) and 0.84 × 10(-3) mm(2)/s (range 0.17–1.56 × 10(-3) mm(2)/s), respectively. There was a strong positive correlation between ADCs and Ds. For clinically relevant b value combinations, maximum deviation between ADCs including and excluding low b values (<100 s/mm(2)) was 11.8 %. CONCLUSION: Selection of b values strongly affects ADCs of malignant breast lesions. However, by excluding low b values, ADCs approach biexponential Ds, demonstrating that microperfusion influences the diffusion signal. Thus, care should be taken when ADC calculation includes low b values. KEY POINTS: • Diffusion-weighted sequences are increasingly used in breast magnetic resonance imaging • Diffusion-weighting (b) values strongly influence apparent diffusion coefficients of malignant lesions • Exclusion of low b values reduces the apparent diffusion coefficient • Flow-insensitive monoexponential apparent diffusion coefficients approach biexponential diffusion coefficient

Erenumab in chronic migraine: Patient-reported outcomes in a randomized double-blind study.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of erenumab, a human monoclonal antibody targeting the calcitonin gene-related peptide receptor, on health-related quality of life (HRQoL), headache impact, and disability in patients with chronic migraine (CM). METHODS: In this double-blind, placebo-controlled study, 667 adults with CM were randomized (3:2:2) to placebo or erenumab (70 or 140 mg monthly). Exploratory endpoints included migraine-specific HRQoL (Migraine-Specific Quality-of-Life Questionnaire [MSQ]), headache impact (Headache Impact Test-6 [HIT-6]), migraine-related disability (Migraine Disability Assessment [MIDAS] test), and pain interference (Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System [PROMIS] Pain Interference Scale short form 6b). RESULTS: Improvements were observed for all endpoints in both erenumab groups at month 3, with greater changes relative to placebo observed at month 1 for many outcomes. All 3 MSQ domains were improved from baseline with treatment differences for both doses exceeding minimally important differences established for MSQ-role function-restrictive (≥3.2) and MSQ-emotional functioning (≥7.5) and for MSQ-role function-preventive (≥4.5) for erenumab 140 mg. Changes from baseline in HIT-6 scores at month 3 were -5.6 for both doses vs -3.1 for placebo. MIDAS scores at month 3 improved by -19.4 days for 70 mg and -19.8 days for 140 mg vs -7.5 days for placebo. Individual-level minimally important difference was achieved by larger proportions of erenumab-treated participants than placebo for all MSQ domains and HIT-6. Lower proportions of erenumab-treated participants had MIDAS scores of severe (≥21) or very severe (≥41) or PROMIS scores ≥60 at month 3. CONCLUSIONS: Erenumab-treated patients with CM experienced clinically relevant improvements across a broad range of patient-reported outcomes. CLINICALTRIALSGOV IDENTIFIER: NCT02066415. CLASSIFICATION OF EVIDENCE: This study provides Class II evidence that for patients with CM, erenumab treatment improves HRQoL, headache impact, and disability

Determinants of guideline use in primary care physical therapy: a cross-sectional survey of attitudes, knowledge, and behavior

Background Understanding of attitudes, knowledge, and behavior related to evidence-based practice (EBP) and use of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines in primary care physical therapy is limited. Objectives The objectives of this study were: (1) to investigate self-reported attitudes, knowledge, behavior, prerequisites, and barriers related to EBP and guideline use among physical therapists in primary care and (2) to explore associations of self-reported use of guidelines with these social cognitive factors along with demographic and workplace characteristics. Design This was a cross-sectional survey. Methods A web-based survey of 419 physical therapists in primary care in western Sweden was performed. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to examine factors associated with guideline use. Results The response rate was 64.7%. Most respondents had positive attitudes toward EBP and guidelines: 90% considered EBP necessary, and 96% considered guidelines important. Approximately two thirds reported confidence in finding and using evidence. One third reported being aware of guidelines. Thirteen percent knew where to find guidelines, and only 9% reported having easy access to guidelines. Fewer than half reported using guidelines frequently. The most important barriers to using guidelines were lack of time, poor availability, and limited access to guidelines. Young age and brief work experience were associated with positive attitudes toward EBP. A postgraduate degree was associated with higher application of EBP. Positive attitudes, awareness of guidelines, considering guidelines to facilitate practice, and knowing how to integrate patient preferences with guideline use were associated with frequent use of guidelines. Limitations Data were self-reported, which may have increased the risk of social desirability bias. Conclusions Use of guidelines was not as frequent as could be expected in view of the positive attitudes toward EBP and guidelines among physical therapists. Awareness of and perceived access to guidelines were limited. The identified determinants can be addressed when developing guideline implementation strategies

Assessment of the benefits of user involvement in health research from the Warwick Diabetes Care Research User Group : a qualitative case study

Objective  To assess the benefits of involving health-care users in diabetes research. Design and participants  For this qualitative case study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with researchers who had worked extensively with the group. During regular meetings of the Research User Group, members discussed their views of the group's effectiveness as part of the meeting's agenda. Interviews and discussions were transcribed, coded using N-Vivo software and analysed using constant comparative methods. Results  Involvement of users in research was generally seen as contributing to effective and meaningful research. However, the group should not be considered to be representative of the patient population or participants of future trials. An important contributor to the group's success was its longstanding nature, enabling users to gain more insight into research and form constructive working relationships with researchers. The user-led nature of the group asserted itself, especially, in the language used during group meetings. A partial shift of power from researchers to users was generally acknowledged. Users' main contribution was their practical expertise in living with diabetes, but their involvement also helped researchers to remain connected to the `real world' in which research would be applied. While the group's work fulfilled established principles of consumer involvement in research, important contributions relying on personal interaction between users and researchers were hard to evaluate by process measures alone. Conclusions  We demonstrated the feasibility, acceptability and effectiveness of this longstanding, experienced, lay-led research advisory group. Its impact on research stems from the continuing interaction between researchers and users, and the general ethos of learning from each other in an on-going process. Both process measures and qualitative interviews with stakeholders are needed to evaluate the contributions of service users to health research

A Unified Quantum NOT Gate

We study the feasibility of implementing a quantum NOT gate (approximate) when the quantum state lies between two latitudes on the Bloch's sphere and present an analytical formula for the optimized 1-to-$M$ quantum NOT gate. Our result generalizes previous results concerning quantum NOT gate for a quantum state distributed uniformly on the whole Bloch sphere as well as the phase covariant quantum state. We have also shown that such 1-to-$M$ optimized NOT gate can be implemented using a sequential generation scheme via matrix product states (MPS)