1983 research outputs found
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Inspecting What We Expect: Central Office and Transformation School Partnership to Implement Literacy Practices through High-Quality Strategic Planning
No full textBoston Public Schools (BPS) serves approximately 49,000 students across 119 schools and is dedicated to providing equitable, high-quality education for every student, regardless of background or circumstance. While schools create improvement plans, they can struggle to use them as an adaptive tool. Central office leaders often collect these plans but only revisit them at the end of the year, leading to a lack of support and coherence from the central office to schools. The school improvement plan process has been viewed by many schools as a compliance exercise, leading to minimal progress monitoring and improvement in student outcomes and teaching practices.
This capstone's strategic project elevates the implementation of school improvement plans in transformation schools. The project creates a structure that promotes collaboration between schools and the district, accountability, and ongoing attention to the school improvement plan throughout the school year. Drawing on Fullan and Quinn's Coherence: The Right Drivers in Action for Schools, Districts, and Systems (2016), I worked collaboratively to create a common language across schools and the district regarding instructional practices, using the school improvement plan as a living document throughout the year. In partnership with district leaders, I led a process where teams of district and school leaders observed approximately 2,000 classrooms. We use each school's improvement plan as the focus, using data from the Equitable Literacy Observational tool to guide professional development and deploy resources to schools.
The strategic project offers a model for organizational leaders to move from creating high-quality goals and strategic plans to a living document with ongoing attention to implementation, resulting in increased outcomes and coherence for their organizations. The capstone outlines three project phases in detail, analyzing components of leadership using the Coherence Framework. The conclusion offers implications for both BPS and other school districts to support the implementation of school improvement plans with effective collaboration and accountability structures
Le Myésier’s Ladder: The Breviculum and the Project to Re-Diagram Llull’s Ars
No full textThis dissertation addresses an early fourteenth-century illuminated manuscript, known as the Breviculum (Karlsruhe, Badische Landesbibliothek, St. Peter, Perg. 92). It contains a compilation of the works of Ramon Llull (1232–1315), an idiosyncratic philosopher from Mallorca who came Paris in the hopes of convincing theologians at the university to adopt his combinatorial-diagrammatic logic system, called the Ars. It was Thomas Le Myésier (d.1336), Llull’s French disciple, who took it upon himself to present the Ars in a set of handbooks, a sort of Lullian curriculum. He dedicated the smallest of these volumes—the Breviculum—to the queen of France and commissioned an artist to paint an introductory set of miniatures. This dissertation examines the Breviculum in three chapters. The first chapter describes Le Myésier’s intellectual background, his manuscripts, and the Lullian Ars in the context of Parisian academia. The second delves into the artistic world of the court of the countess of Artois. Employed by the countess later in his career, Le Myésier took inspiration from her literary and artistic milieu. The last chapter examines the Breviculum and its miniatures in depth, explaining the details of Le Myésier’s new mise-en-page and diagrams for the Ars, the techniques he chose in collaboration with an artist to represent Llull’s life and philosophy, and his investment in images as a crucial component in the process of knowledge. These observations speak to pictures’ potential to represent philosophical concepts and, ultimately, the role of images in reaching higher truth
Selective covalent targeting of GPX4 using masked nitrile-oxide electrophiles
No full textWe recently described glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) as a promising target for killing therapy-resistant cancer cells via ferroptosis. The onset of therapy resistance by multiple types of treatment results in a stable cell state marked by high levels of polyunsaturated lipids and an acquired dependency on GPX4. Unfortunately, all existing inhibitors of GPX4 act covalently via a reactive alkyl chloride moiety that confers poor selectivity and pharmacokinetic properties. Here, we report our discovery that masked nitrile-oxide electrophiles, which have not been explored previously as covalent cellular probes, undergo remarkable chemical transformations in cells and provide an effective strategy for selective targeting of GPX4. The new GPX4-inhibiting compounds we describe exhibit unexpected proteome-wide selectivity and, in some instances, vastly improved physiochemical and pharmacokinetic properties compared to existing chloroacetamide-based GPX4 inhibitors. These features make them superior tool compounds for biological interrogation of ferroptosis and constitute starting points for development of improved inhibitors of GPX4.Chemistry and Chemical BiologyAccepted Manuscrip
Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma With Prominent Myofibroblastic Stromal Component: Clinicopathologic, Immunohistochemical and Next-Generation Sequencing Study of Seven Cases
No full textPapillary thyroid carcinoma with desmoid-type fibromatosis or nodular fasciitis like stroma is an extremely unusual and poorly understood subtype of papillary thyroid cancer. Although prior studies have demonstrated alterations in the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway in a few of these tumors, controversy still exists regarding the nature of the stromal spindle component. We have studied 9 cases of papillary thyroid carcinoma with prominent myofibroblastic stroma, including 8 men and 1 woman aged 20 to 58 years (mean age = 46). All cases displayed areas consistent with conventional papillary thyroid carcinoma embedded in abundant myofibroblastic-like stroma. The myofibroblastic stroma in 8 cases resembled desmoid-type fibromatosis and in one case it more closely resembled nodular fasciitis. By immunohistochemical staining, the stromal spindle component showed positivity for SMA and low MIB1 proliferation index in all cases, and strong nuclear positivity for beta-catenin in 8/9 cases. Stains for cytokeratin AE1/AE3 and PAX8 were positive in the epithelial elements but negative in the stromal component. Next generation sequencing was performed on 8 of 9 cases. CTNNB1 gene mutations were identified in 7/8 cases. BRAF mutations were identified in 3 cases and an NRAS mutation was identified in 1 case in the epithelial component. The case with fasciitis-like stroma was negative for beta-catenin by sequencing and immunostaining as well as negative for USP6 gene rearrangement. Our findings indicate that papillary thyroid carcinoma with prominent myofibroblastic stroma may represent more than one category of lesions.Accepted Manuscrip
Chemistry, A Novel
No full textChemistry is a young adult novel that tells the coming-of-age story of Heidi Ross, a 16-year-old high school junior from New York state. The novel, which explores how teenagers use their relationships with one another to define themselves, draws the inspiration for each character – most of whom are in the same Advanced Placement Chemistry class at Madison High School – from the elements of the periodic table. The individual properties and behaviors of the elements, and how they interact with one another, inform characters like Heidi, her best friend Iz, and her nemesis Audrey, as well as the ways in which the characters deal with one another
Hacking Moral Code: Can Cognitive Stimulation Impact Moral Semantic Processing?
No full textCan targeted cognitive stimulation impact the semantic processing of moral words like “fair?” When individuals apply a word like “fair” to different situations, do they make these judgements consistently or can they be altered with the activation of different cognitive functions within the brain? Recent research has demonstrated that semantic processing, in which the brain attributes meaning to words, may be composed of numerous cognitive functions also used in other mental processes, and that processing different kinds of words and concepts requires different component functions. Perhaps this theory can be extended to the meaning of individual words; that a word’s distinct meaning may come from a unique “package” of cognitive components. Thus, if the cognitive component “package” used by an individual to process a word is somehow modified, then the individual will interpret the meaning of that word differently. The researcher hypothesized that exposing individuals to cognitive stimulation activities, such as word analogy exercises, would activate cognitive functions related to perceiving equality and – in a phenomenon known as cognitive process priming – encourage the individuals to apply the word “fair” to more options presented in a spectrum of possible distributive justice outcomes for different business ethics dilemmas. In two “pre- and post-test” design experiments, each involving roughly 120-participants, results indicate significant word analogy effect on the application of the word “fair” in business ethics dilemmas related to intellectual property and company co-founder disputes. In the first experiment, using a quasi-experimental design with no randomized question order or control, intellectual property case responses (Dilemma 1) produced statistical scores of p=.021 and Cohen’s d = -.185, while company co-founder cases (Dilemma 2) produced p=.045 and Cohen’s d =-.155. In the second experiment, fully randomized in question order and with a control group, Dilemma 2 responses produced p=.040 and Cohen’s d = -.323 for all six trials, and scores of p=.015 and Cohen’s d = -.572 for the first three trials. Meanwhile, Dilemma 1 responses were significant, p=.040 and Cohen’s d = 1.063, only in the second trial. This data suggests that the word analogies did impact the semantic processing of the word “fair,” but only in the ethics dilemmas making cognitive demands similar in structure to those made in the analogy exercises, and that the effect dissipates quickly. If this phenomenon can be demonstrated for other cognitive functions and moral concepts, it could lead to new techniques in semantic measurement and computational modelling of complex social behavior, and new protocols for calibrating ethical discourse in public and professional forums. This phenomenon could also provide the foundation for a new paradigm of psychological warfare
Neutrophil heterogeneity in cancer
No full textNeutrophils are abundant in a wide range of cancer types and are classically considered to be tumor-promoting cells associated with poor clinical outcomes. However, emerging evidence suggests that tumor-associated neutrophils can exhibit anti-tumor, as well as pro-tumor functions. These contrasting reports suggest a need to better understand neutrophil diversity, and the mechanisms underlying the development of these divergent functional states.
The first study presented in this dissertation focuses on a population of SiglecFhi neutrophils found in lung tumors, which displays several pro-tumor phenotypes and directly contributes to primary tumor growth. Our goal was to further define the identity of SiglecFhi neutrophils and better understand the response mediated by these cells in vivo. We found SiglecFhi neutrophils to be mature, non-proliferating cells that are long-lived at the tumor site and display fundamental features that diverge from previously reported neutrophil populations.
The second study presented in this dissertation investigates whether neutrophils with opposing functions co-exist in tumors, and whether specific anti-tumor neutrophil states can be harnessed in therapy. We found that successful immunotherapy treatments acutely expanded a Sellhi neutrophil state which displayed an interferon gene signature. Sellhi neutrophils were required for successful responses to immunotherapy treatment, and were dependent on the interferon responsive transcription factor Irf1, as well as interactions between T and dendritic cells. In addition, Sellhi neutrophils displayed putative progenitors at the tumor site that were distinct from SiglecFhi neutrophil progenitors.
Together these findings further our understanding of SiglecFhi pro-tumor neutrophils, and establish a crucial role for Sellhi neutrophils in mediating effective cancer immunotherapy. This will be important in determining how we could potentially manipulate these neutrophils to promote anti-tumor responses in patients.Medical SciencesMedical Science
On the Role of Solar Geoengineering in Combatting Climate Change: Harvard University vs. Indigenous Voices
No full textIn 2021 the Saami Council asked Harvard to suspend research related to stratospheric aerosol injections, a form of geoengineering. Their intervention raises far-reaching questions regarding the appropriateness of geoengineering as a response to climate change, but also regarding the status of indigenous voices in this debate. I make two main points. It behooves us (i.e., places that influence decisions regarding climate change) to engage indigenous voices also as a way of addressing one type of moral corruption in climate change (that only voices from the present can engage on what to do about it). Absent actual representation of future generations, engaging with the ecological stance typically associated with indigenous groups (who display remarkable commonality in this regard) is the best we can do. Secondly, while critics rightly associate geoengineering with the mindset that caused climate change, it still seems wise to continue research into stratospheric aerosol injections. But advocacy in this domain has performative dimensions and itself might trigger reactions and counter-reactions. So taking this stance entails follow-up obligations to help make sure geoengineering is not used to defeat efforts at emission reductions.Version of Recor
Leaning-against-the-wind intervention and the “carry-trade” view of the cost of reserves
No full textFor a sample of emerging economies, we estimate the quasi-fiscal costs of sterilized foreign exchange interventions as the P&L of an inverse carry trade. We show that these costs can be substantial when intervention has a neo-mercantilist motive (preserving an undervalued currency) or a stabilization motive (appreciating the exchange rate as a nominal anchor) but are rather small when interventions follow a countercyclical, leaning-against-the-wind (LAW) pattern to contain exchange rate volatility. We document that under LAW, central banks outperform a constant size carry trade, as they additionally benefit from buying against cyclical deviations, and that the cost of reserves under the carry-trade view is generally lower than the one obtained from the credit-risk view (which equals the marginal cost to the country´s sovereign spread).Version of Recor
Sexual Deepfakes and Image-Based Sexual Abuse: Victim-Survivor Experiences and Embodied Harms
No full textThe democratization of deepfake technology over the last six years has resulted in
an unprecedented emergence and growth of a new type of image-based sexual abuse:
sexual deepfakes. Sexual deepfakes are a pernicious form of sexual violence that
profoundly impacts the physical, emotional, and social aspects of victims’ lives. While
academic research has addressed the lived experiences of victim-survivors of other forms
of image-based sexual abuse, because of their relative recency, sexual deepfakes are an
under-researched phenomenon, leaving victims with little recourse or recognition of their
experience as a legitimate form of sexual violence. The purpose of this phenomenological
study is to explore the lived experiences of victim-survivors of image-based sexual abuse,
with a specific focus on exploring the lived experiences of victim-survivors of sexual
deepfakes.
I chose to incorporate a purposeful mixed sampling, combining three different
sampling techniques that were most consistent with the study’s research purpose:
voluntary homogeneous sampling, criterion sampling, and confirming case sampling.
Each sampling technique corresponded with one of the study’s three phases, screening
survey, semi-structured interviews, and amplifying emerging themes through confirmed
cases of lived experience experts (LEE). LEE cases were selected to amplify the voices
of the victim-survivors interviewed in the current study, four of five of whom revealed
participation in semi-structured interviews to be the first time they had spoken out about
their experience.
Recruitment occurred from August 2022 until November 2022, in which a total of
58 individuals were invited to participate in semi-structured interviews; 63% (37) of
participants reported experiences of sexual deepfake abuse, all of whom reported that
their sexual deepfakes had been monetized online.
One-on-one (N=5) semi-structured interviews with victim-survivors of image-based sexual abuse, including experiences of sexual deepfake abuse, were conducted
between October 2022 and November 2022. Semi-structured interviews were analyzed
using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA), in which preliminary coding of
emerging themes provided a foundation for selecting a total of seven public cases from
sexual deepfake lived experience experts (LEE). Findings from this study suggest that
sexual deepfake abuse is a severely gendered phenomenon in which heteronormativity
has become the template for enacting sexual violence – irrespective of the victim’s sex,
gender identity, or sexual orientation. Additionally, this study found sexual deepfake
abuse to be particularly harmful because of the fluidity and co-occurrence of online-offline experiences of abuse, resulting in endless reverberations of abuse in which every
aspect of the victim’s life is permanently disrupted