33659 research outputs found
Sort by
Love and Romance in Early Modern British Literature
Get PDFThis paper seeks to describe and analyze the way in which themes of love and romance were presented in literature in early modern Britain, and how those may differ from or be similar to romantic themes in the media of today. The works being analyzed include plays by William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe, as well as some of Shakespeare’s sonnets. A few different lenses will be explored, including the interaction that love could have with the societal power structure and hierarchy present within the literature (such as the ways in which someone being the lover of a powerful person might cause them to receive undue social standing and influence), as well as the intersection of love and romance with topics such as gender and sexuality, and how such topics may add complexities to an otherwise more straightforward story, such as with Rosalind’s period of disguising herself as a man in As You Like It. Works inspired by historical events are also compared to their source material (such as the events in Edward II versus the reign of the titular English king), as well as notable historical circumstances of the time at which they were written
Investigation of the Electrode-Electrolyte Interphase in Ester-Based Electrolytes in NCM523/Graphite Cells
Get PDFThe use of methyl acetate (MA) and methyl propionate (MP) as co-solvents in carbonate/LiPF6 electrolytes have been investigated in LiNi0.5Co0.2Mn0.3O2 (NCM523)/graphite cells to improve electrochemical performance at low temperature (-20 °C). Consistent with previous investigations, improved low temperature performance was observed with all electrolyte formulations containing esters. Detailed ex situ surface analysis of the surface films generated with the ester-based electrolytes containing electrolyte additives reveal significant changes to the SEI on graphite upon cycling at moderately elevated temperature (45 °C). In the presence of vinylene carbonate (VC) lithium plating is observed upon cycling at low temperature (-20 °C) which leads to a thicker solid electrolyte interface (SEI) upon cycling at 45 °C. Incorporation of fluoroethylene carbonate (FEC) as an electrolyte additive results in the generation of a thin SEI and alters the structure of the surface film on the NCM523 cathode resulting in stable cycling over a wide temperature range
Alkaline nucleoplasm facilitates contractile gene expression in the mammalian heart
Get PDFCardiac contractile strength is recognised as being highly pH-sensitive, but less is known about the influence of pH on cardiac gene expression, which may become relevant in response to changes in myocardial metabolism or vascularization during development or disease. We sought evidence for pH-responsive cardiac genes, and a physiological context for this form of transcriptional regulation. pHLIP, a peptide-based reporter of acidity, revealed a non-uniform pH landscape in early-postnatal myocardium, dissipating in later life. pH-responsive differentially expressed genes (pH-DEGs) were identified by transcriptomics of neonatal cardiomyocytes cultured over a range of pH. Enrichment analysis indicated “striated muscle contraction” as a pH-responsive biological process. Label-free proteomics verified fifty-four pH-responsive gene-products, including contractile elements and the adaptor protein CRIP2. Using transcriptional assays, acidity was found to reduce p300/CBP acetylase activity and, its a functional readout, inhibit myocardin, a co-activator of cardiac gene expression. In cultured myocytes, acid-inhibition of p300/CBP reduced H3K27 acetylation, as demonstrated by chromatin immunoprecipitation. H3K27ac levels were more strongly reduced at promoters of acid-downregulated DEGs, implicating an epigenetic mechanism of pH-sensitive gene expression. By tandem cytoplasmic/nuclear pH imaging, the cardiac nucleus was found to exercise a degree of control over its pH through Na+/H+ exchangers at the nuclear envelope. Thus, we describe how extracellular pH signals gain access to the nucleus and regulate the expression of a subset of cardiac genes, notably those coding for contractile proteins and CRIP2. Acting as a proxy of a well-perfused myocardium, alkaline conditions are permissive for expressing genes related to the contractile apparatus
Posttraumatic Stress as a Moderator of the Association between HPA-axis Functioning and Alcohol Use Disorder among a Community Sample of Women Currently Experiencing Intimate Partner Violence
Get PDFWomen experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) experience a heightened prevalence of alcohol use disorder (AUD). Hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA)-axis functioning has been associated with increased risk for AUD in other populations, including individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. The goal of the present study was to determine whether PTSD symptom severity exacerbates the relationship between HPA-axis functioning and AUD. Participants were 151 community women who had experienced physical or sexual IPV in the past 30 days by their current male partners and used any amount of alcohol or drugs. A two-phase emotion induction protocol was utilized: Neutral mood induction followed by randomly assigned negative, positive, or neutral emotion induction. Saliva cortisol samples were obtained immediately following the neutral mood induction (baseline HPA-axis functioning), 20 min following the individualized emotion induction script (HPA-axis reactivity), and 40 min post the emotionally evocative cue (HPA-axis recovery). Findings revealed that PTSD symptom severity moderated the relations between baseline HPA-axis functioning and HPA-axis recovery and log odds of meeting criteria for AUD. Specifically, baseline HPA-axis functioning was positively associated with log odds of meeting criteria for AUD at high (but not low) PTSD symptom severity, whereas HPA-axis recovery was negatively associated with log odds of meeting criteria for AUD at high (but not low) PTSD symptom severity. Results contribute to our understanding of the biological processes involved in the etiology and maintenance of AUD among women experiencing IPV—specifically the prominent role of PTSD symptom severity. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved
Critical media literacy for uncertain times: Promoting student reflexivity
Get PDFDevelopments in information and communication technologies (ICTs) add urgency to the claim that democracy requires media literate citizens. The purpose of this paper is to support media engagement by youth in a context characterized by the spread of misinformation through the very technologies that promise to democratize public debate. Rejecting literacy as a “skill”, our work illustrates how informed judgment during media engagement can be promoted by student reflexivity. Drawing on our research with teachers, we identify six modes of student reflexivity: personal, affective, evidentiary, analytical, ethical, and political. Each mode can be prompted through a line of questioning that attends to the role of media engagement in re/constituting the social world, offline as well as online. These modes prepare youth for an active citizenship promoting social justice through what we call “critical social literacy”
New England Faculty Development Consortium (May 24th, 2022): Grading for Learning at the University of Rhode Island
Get PDFThis session presents the work of one educational developer and three instructors who collaborated on a “Grading for Learning: Empowering Students with Agency for Growth” initiative at the University of Rhode Island. Highlights include a Faculty Learning Community model and three implementation examples of Specifications Grading across diverse disciplines.
Session Outcomes: Articulate how their grading practices relate to their values as educators and their beliefs about learning and education Identify one small change they can implement in one of their courses to better align its assessment structure with those beliefs and values Evaluate the possibility of facilitating a Book club or designing a Learning Community for colleagues interested in exploring progressive assessment with their own institutional context Connect with partners to help them extend the conversation within their own institutio
The effectiveness of government stock purchase during market crash: Evidence from China
No full textDuring the Chinese stock market crash in 2015, the Chinese government formed a “national team” to directly purchase stocks of more than 1000 firms. We find that the national team\u27s interventions lower the stock price crash risk for these firms; however, they also increase stock price synchronicity, transaction cost and decrease idiosyncratic information. The stabilizing role of the “national team” disappears in the long run after the crisis period. Firms with more noise traders and a lower level of investor confidence benefit more from the national team ownership, consistent with the conjecture that the national team improves market liquidity and investor confidence
Does Microcredit Reduce Poverty? An Empirical Exploration in India
Get PDFMicrocredit has grown dramatically over the last few decades and its supporters have made extravagant promises about its potential impact on reducing poverty. However, much recent research has shown that microcredit has no significant impact on reducing poverty. In this exploratory study we interview 205 clients of for-profit microcredit to better understand the causes of why microcredit has not lived up to its promise. We find the basic problem is that the lending policies of the microcredit organizations are designed to lower the costs and risks, and hence increase the profits of the organization, and are not responsive to the needs of the clients and their microenterprises
Domesticating space: Media production pedagogy for the empowerment of marginalized youth
Get PDFThis article investigates the role of space in media and information literacy (MIL), especially when supporting learners’ production skills. The MIL framework is to a great extent focused on deconstruction of messages in a private position of reception, while the theoretical, didactic and ethical components of the production pedagogy are less developed. This multiple-case study analyses the situated agency of young people in a vulnerable position with regard to the spaces where agency is sustained. We develop the concept of production context into a more specific concept of production space and apply it to the film club in a suburb in Sweden. We combine qualitative analysis of critical situations in selected spaces with theoretical development of the idea of production space, to arrive at increased understanding of production skills and related media pedagogy