89 research outputs found
Implied Author, Overall Consideration, and Subtext of "Desiree's Baby"
No full textThis essay explores how to infer from a text the image of the implied author. It examines Kate Chopin's "Desiree's Baby" (1893), which has been widely regarded as an indictment of racism but which an "overall consideration" of the implied author's choices will lead us to see as a racist text. Through the interaction of various details in the text, the implied author suggests three racist dichotomies: (1) white characters' nondiscrimination versus black characters' discrimination, (2) positive slavery under white masters versus negative slavery under a black master, and (3) superior whites versus inferior blacks. This implied racist stance reflects the historical context of Chopin's personal experiences, but it contrasts with the quite different racial stances of the implied authors of some other Chopin narratives with different thematic designs. The complexity of the narratives under the name "Kate Chopin" offers an opportunity not only to gain a better understanding of the concept of implied author but also to clarify the relations (connections as well as disparities) among textual, intertextual, and extratextual evidence in literary interpretation in general.LiteratureA&HCI4ARTICLE2285-3113
Modelling individual preferences for environmental policy drivers: Empirical evidence of Italian lifestyle changes using a latent class approach
Get PDFDegraded air quality severely affects the health of citizens worldwide. The design of effective policies requires exploring public preferences for environmental and air quality policy instruments. Within the EC-FP7 SEFIRA project, using a choice experiment that stresses the trade-offs between attributes, this study investigates public preferences for environmental policy drivers in Italy. The main objective is to investigate the role played by selected policy drivers in determining policy preferences, complemented by elasticity and willingness to pay estimations. Preference heterogeneity and the role of socio-economic and attitudinal variables are explored with a latent class model over 2400 respondents sampled across Italy. The results allow identifying the different role played by the policy drivers across the classes. It emerged that most of the respondents (43%) are particularly sensitive to the cost components (cost sensitive respondents). The remaining respondents instead show an important sensitivity towards personal engagement in term of changes in the mobility and eating habits (lifestyle-change sensitive respondents). However, while 29% of them perceive these habits’ changes as negatively impacting on the personal utility, the other 28% of respondents translate the potential changes in the habitual behaviour of driving and eating as environmental and health benefits. Based on the modelling results, potential policies are simulated reporting respondents’ reaction to selected scenarios. It shows the crucial role played by reduction of premature deaths due to atmospheric pollution and measure cost.
ã 2016 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-N
The rise of temporary employment in Japan: Legalisation and expansion of a non-regular employment form
Get PDFThis discussion paper examines the institutionalization process of a non-regular employment form especially focusing on the establishment of the temporary dispatching work (haken) system. The institutionalization process of the haken system can be divided into three periods: delegalisation (1947-86), legalisation (1986-99), and diffusion (1999-). Declining labor strength, the emergence of deregulation bodies, and the changing attitude of the Ministry of Labor (MHLW) characterize the legal developments. Together with the liberalization of private job placement and the expansion of fixed-term contract work, temporary work became an important sources of flexible and skilled labor, and expanded more rapidly than other employment forms in the late 90s. In this development, temporary help firms started to reframe their business as 'personnel services,' and have positioned themselves to replace the traditional firm-internal supply of mobile employees such as shukkô and tenseki with external dispatched employees of temporary help firms. --Japan,temporary work,non-regular employment,labor market,(de-)regulation
Relationship Between Financial Aid Policies, Practices and Procedures at Texas Public Colleges and Universities
Get PDFThe economic success of the state of Texas is dependent upon future market participants having access to higher education. The ability of Texas citizens to access higher education is dependent upon access to financial aid resources to pay for higher education. Much is known about the impact of particular financial aid outcomes on access and persistence in higher education. However, very little is known about whether institutional financial aid processes (i.e. the policies, practices and procedures used by financial aid administrators) affect financial aid outcomes for students. This is especially true in Texas. The study that follows was a retrospective study related to financial aid and student access to higher education. Specifically, the research examined the relationship between financial aid processes (policies, practices and procedures)and outcomes (financial aid awards) at Texas public institutions of higher education. This study explored (1) whether there were definable patterns in financial aid outcomes for students at Texas public institutions; (2) whether these patterns varied by institutional type; (3) whether there were patterns in the financial processes used by financial aid administrators at these institutions; (4) whether these patterns varied by institutional type; and (5) whether there were definable relationships between the financial aid outcomes and the processes used by financial aid administrators at Texas public institutions. To investigate these questions, the researcher (1) extracted and analyzed financial aid award data obtained from the statewide Financial Aid Database System (FADS) maintained by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board; (2) surveyed financial aid administrators at Texas public colleges and universities regarding institutional financial aid processes (survey derived from the 2001 Survey of Undergraduate Financial Aid Policies, Practices and Procedures (SUFAPP) developed by the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators); and (3) identified financial aid award outcomes and determined from the survey database whether definable patterns of institutional financial aid processes existed. This research was significant as it examined relationships between processes (institutional policies, practices and procedures) and outcomes (financial aid awards to students) and provided structural models illustrating those relationships which (1) were state specific and (2) would be useful to financial aid administrators in evaluating the impact of their processes on outcomes for their students.financial,aid,financing,higher,education,college,undergraduate,survey,policies,practices,procedures,university,universities,public,institutions,study
Adult neurogenesis promotes efficient, nonspecific search strategies in a spatial alternation water maze task
No full textGoal-directed navigation requires learning strategies that are efficient and minimize costs. In some cases it may be desirable to flexibly adjust behavioral responses depending on the cues that vary from one episode to the next. In others, successful navigation might be achieved with inflexible, habit-like responses that reduce cognitive load. Adult neurogenesis is believed to contribute to the spatial processing functions of the hippocampus, particularly when behavioral flexibility is required. However, little is known about the role of neurogenesis in spatial navigation when goals are unpredictable or change repeatedly according to certain rules. We hypothesized that neurogenesis is necessary in a spatial navigation task that involves different patterns of reinforcement. Intact and neurogenesis-deficient rats were trained to escape to one of two possible platform locations in a spatial water maze. The platform either repeated in the same location for all trials in a day, alternated between two locations across trials, or randomly moved between the two locations. Neurogenesis selectively enhanced escape performance in the alternating condition, but not by improving platform choice accuracy. Instead, neurogenesis-intact rats made fewer search errors and developed an efficient habit-like strategy where they consistently swam to a preferred location. If the platform was not present, they proceeded to the other possible location. In contrast, neurogenesis-deficient rats were indecisive and navigationally less-efficient. Thus, in conditions where goals follow a predictable spatiotemporal pattern, adult neurogenesis promotes the adoption of navigation strategies that are spatially nonspecific but, nonetheless, accurate and efficient
CRISPR-Cas9-Mediated Reduced Expression of Potato Apoplastic Invertase Inhibitor Gene and Analysis of Transformation Efficiency Parameters
Get PDFPathogen infections that affect potato yield cause severe economic losses every year. Many studies point to the role of apoplastic (cell wall) invertase (CWIN) enzyme in plant defence mechanisms. Apoplastic invertase inhibitor (INVINH1) post-translationally regulates the CWIN enzyme activity. Nevertheless, the role of INVINH1 needs to be elucidated for several effects in plant transformation parameters and its gene expression which we sought to explore using CRISPR/Cas9 technology. In this study, we sequenced the first exon of INVINH1 gene in cv. Desiree and Solanum chacoense M6. We identified in the first exon two alleles for StINVINH1 gene in cv. Desiree and one allele for ScINVINH1 gene in S. chacoense M6. We designed two single-guided RNAs (sgRNAs) to target INVINH1 gene from diploid S. chacoense M6 and tetraploid S. tuberosum cv. Desiree using CRISPR/Cas9-based technology. In our earlier study, we have already optimised the transformation protocol for M6 and cv. Desiree using Agrobacterium strains, based on which Agrobacterium strain AGL1 was chosen for the CRISPR/Cas9 experiment. Our experimentation showed that heat stress at 37 degrees C could increase the mutagenesis capability and CRISPR/Cas9 targeting affected the plant transformation parameters. It was found from the knockout experiment that the indels were present in the calli and the candidate regenerated plants showed reduced gene expression level conducted via RT-qPCR. Our study demonstrated that INVINH1 targeting affected the calli induction and regeneration rates, was effective under heat stress and reduced its gene expression level. More studies are required to comprehend the function of the INVINH1 enzyme in potato stress response and defence mechanism.TUBITAK; Graduate Scholarship ProgrammeWe would like to thank TUBITAK for awarding the first author with the Graduate Scholarship Programme for International Students-2215 (PhD). We are thankful to Dr. Abdellah Barakate who created the CRISPR vector and designed and supervised the protocols for gene editing plant transformation
A combination of running and memantine increases neurogenesis and reduces activation of developmentally-born dentate granule neurons in rats
No full textDuring hippocampal-dependent memory formation, sensory signals from the neocortex converge in the dentate gyrus. It is generally believed that the dentate gyrus decorrelates inputs in order to minimize interference between codes for similar experiences, often referred to as pattern separation. The proportion of dentate neurons that are activated by experience is therefore likely to impact how memories are stored and separated. Emerging evidence from mouse models suggests that adult-born neurons can both increase and decrease activity levels in the dentate gyrus. However, the conditions that determine the direction of this modulation, and whether it occurs in other species, remains unclear. Furthermore, since the dentate gyrus is composed of a heterogeneous population of cells that are born throughout life, newborn neurons may not modulate all cells equally. We aimed to investigate whether adult neurogenesis in rats regulates activity in dentate gyrus neurons that are born at the peak of early postnatal development. Adult neurogenesis was increased by subjecting rats to an alternating running and memantine treatment schedule, and it was decreased with a transgenic GFAP-TK rat model. Activity was measured by Fos expression in BrdU+ cells after rats explored a novel environment. Running+memantine treatment increased adult neurogenesis by only 17%, but completely blocked experience-dependent Fos expression. In contrast, GFAP-TK rats had a 68% reduction in adult neurogenesis but normal experience-dependent Fos expression. The inconsistent relationship between neurogenesis and Fos expression suggests that neurogenesis does not regulate DG activity during exploration of a novel environment. Nonetheless, running and memantine may benefit disorders where there is elevated activity in the dentate gyrus, such as anxiety and age-related memory impairments
Coming together : understanding the intersection of unaccompanied refugee minor status and community service referral and access
Get PDFThe purpose of this study is to understand the impact of different types of Unaccompanied Refugee Minor (URM) status (traditional URM, victims of trafficking, SIJS, and asylees) on availability and quality of community services (legal assistance, education, mental health, and employment) using a qualitative approach. All nine staff working with a URM resettlement program were interviewed using semi-structured interviews, and transcriptions were thematically analyzed. The results of the study suggest that staff are able to identify unique needs of youth by status, but are unable to recognize and discuss how that impacts youths\u2019 experiences from service providers in the broader community. Most staff shared victim blaming explanations for differences in service utilization among youth without acknowledging systemic explanations. The author concludes with study limitations, recommendations for applied practice, and directions for future research.Thesis (M.A.)--Michigan State University. Psychology, 2015Includes bibliographical references (pages 101-107
Contulma meloi Holzenthal & Robertson, 2006, new species
No full textContulma meloi, new species Figs. 3 A–G This new species is related to C. tijuca and the other Brazilian species described here, but differs from the other species in the dorsomesal processes of segment IX, which are absent or very short in C. meloi. Length of forewing: 3.8 mm (both specimens). Forewing color (in alcohol) light brown, immaculate; head, thorax, and appendages light brown. Posterior foretibial spur about 1 / 2 length of anterior spur. Male genitalia. Segment IX in lateral view broad, with anterior margin relatively straight, heavily setose ventrally; posterior margin straight dorsally and medially, produced ventrolaterally to form broad, prominent, heavily setose lobe; posterodorsally without processes in holotype (Figs. 3 A, B), but with very short, acute processes in paratype (Fig. 3 G); dorsally segment IX highly reduced; sternum IX in ventral view with posteromesal, sclerotized, spatulate projection, surface longitudinally striate, apically cleft, anteromesally bearing about 4 flat, fused, toothlike setae. Inferior appendage in lateral view short, subtriangular, dorsal margin straight, bearing about 4 or 5 short setae, ventral margin heel-like; inferior appendages apparently fused to base of sternum IX projection, together forming highly complex structure as in Figs. 3 A, C. Processes of subphallic membranes absent (or not visible). Segment X highly reduced, entirely membranous. Phallus relatively simple; phallobase sclerotized, tubular, curved; in dorsal view broad posteriorly; apex of phallus with membranous and semimembranous lobes as in Figs. 3 D–F; apicodorsally with paired membranes, apex semimembranous; apicoventrally with paired semimembranous lobes; phallotremal sclerite present, large, subspherical. Female. Unknown. Holotype male: BRAZIL: São Paulo: Estação Biológica de Boracéia, Rio Venerando, 23 ° 39 ’ 11 ”S, 45 ° 53 ’ 25 ”W, el. 850 m, 18–21.ix. 2002, Blahnik, Prather, Melo, Froehlich, Silva (UMSP 000210914) (MZUSP). Paratype: BRAZIL: São Paulo: same data as holotype — 1 male (UMSP). Etymology. The new species is named in honor of Dr. Adriano Sanches Melo in recognition of his friendship and assistance to the senior author and his colleagues during their work and travels in Brazil. Dr. Melo’s research interests lie in the ecology and natural history of aquatic insects in Brazil, especially the Trichoptera. He also helped collect the new species.Published as part of Holzenthal, Ralph W. & Robertson, Desiree R., 2006, Four new species of Contulma from South America (Trichoptera: Anomalopsychidae), pp. 49-59 in Zootaxa 1355 on pages 54-56, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17458
"Passing women": gender and hybridity in the fiction of three female South African authors
No full textMagister Artium - MAA key aim of this study is to shed light on the representation of coloured women with reference to racial passing, using fictive characters depicted in Sarah Gertrude Millin�s (1924) God's Stepchildren, Zo� Wicomb's (2006) Playing in the Light, and Pat Stamat�los's (2005) Kroes, as presented by these three racially distinct female South African authors. Since I propose that literature provides a link between a subjective history and the under-represented narratives from the margins, I use literature to reimagine these. I analyse the ways in which the authors present 'hybrid' identities within their characters in different ways, and provide an explanation and contextual basis for the exploration of the theme of 'passing for and as white' within South Africa's complex history. I provide a sociological explanation of the act of racial passing in South Africa with reference to the United States by incorporating Nella Larsen's (1929) Passing. Since the analyses will concentrate on coloured females within the texts, gendered identity and female sexuality and stereotypes will be the focus. I look at the act and agent of passing, the role of raced and gendered performance in giving meaning to social identities, and the way in which the female body is constructed in racial terms in order to confer identity. Tracing the historical origins of coloured identity and coloured female identity, I interrogate this colonial, post-colonial, apartheid and post-apartheid history by employing a feminist lens. A combination of postcolonial feminist discourse analysis, sociological inquiry and feminist narrative analysis
are therefore the methods I use to achieve my research aims. Chapter 1: The concepts of 'coloured', 'coloured identity', and 'passing' are introduced. I provide a historical overview of the origins of 'colouredness' in the South African context to examine the historical, ideological and social implications of the subject matter under discussion. Chapter 2: Set over a period between the years 1821 to 1921 God's Stepchildren deals with a family spanning four generations, bound by 'tainted' blood. I focus on the character Elmira who represents the third generation of the initial 'miscegenation'. I look at the effect the racist social milieu has on the author�s representation of coloured women and how this translates into apparently insurmountable beliefs that stereotypes equal nature. Chapter 3: Playing in the Light confronts racial passing through an unwitting passer and her intentionally passing parents. I analyse how Wicomb presents the protagonist's struggle to relocate her identity in contemporary South African society. I compare the attitudes toward race presented by the characters, especially across the two generations of passing women in the novel in order to demonstrate a progression in attitudes toward passing. Chapter 4: Kroes, published in 2005, is partially biographical. The novel is set in urban Cape Town and Johannesburg of the late 1950s to 1970. The protagonist, and central passing figure, narrates the story in the first person using Cape vernacular Afrikaans. I look at the way in which women are influenced by internalised inferiority, and how arbitrary skin pigmentation is deemed to decide their fate. Chapter 5: I draw together the common themes found in the three works of fiction, and draw inferences from my findings about the representation of coloured women
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