901 research outputs found
Born-frees and worn trees: home grown medicinal plants and poverty
No full textDespite the widespread use of modern medicines, the parallel role of traditional medicine remains popular in both rural and urban areas and among both wealthy and poor African communities in South Africa. A substantial body of literature exists which documents some of the salient characteristics of the trade and use of traditional medicines (Ngubane 1977; Cocks and Wiersum 2002; Cocks and Møller 2002; Cocks and Dold 2006). Mander (1998) estimated that 27 million people used indigenous medicine in South Africa in a decade. The use and trade of plants for medicine is no longer confined to traditional healers but has entered both the informal and formal sectors of the South African economy (Dauskardt 1990, 1991; Cocks and Dold 2000), resulting in an increase in the number of herbal gatherers and traders (Dold and Cocks 2002). The largely informal trade in traditional medicines forms part of multi-million rand ‘hidden economy’ in southern Africa, and it is now bigger than at any time in the past. It is certainly one of the most complex resource management issues facing conservation agencies, healthcare professionals and resource users in South Africa today (Cunningham 1997). Research points towards a trend of increasing harvesting pressures on traditional supply areas linked to a growing shortage in supply of popular medicinal plant species (Williams et al. 1997, 2000; Mander 1998; Dold and Cocks 2002)
The Artistic Legacy of Georgia O’Keeffe
No full textThe work of American artist, Georgia O’Keeffe (1887-1986), was considered to be unique and revolutionary in her own time, but she ultimately achieved a prominent position in the history of art. The enduring inspiration of this important artist is demonstrated by an investigation of key artistic motifs as well as her legacy via the discussion of artists who have been influenced by her: Alfred Stieglitz, Arthur Dove, Marsden Hartley, and the author, Michelle L. Knutson
Teacher leaders as professional development providers: a case study
No full textHigh stakes assessments mandated by 2001 No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) have increased the focus on student achievement causing a closer examination of the link between student achievement and teacher quality. Teacher training, through professional development, has been documented to be one of the most important factors in student achievement and may be one of the few indicators of student success that a school can control. As a result of a shift in beliefs and practices regarding professional development, current research has pointed in the direction of encouraging schools to embrace a professional development model led and supported by teacher leaders. This study’s purpose was to examine teacher leaders who receive their own professional development through a University Literacy Center, and what they do as professional development providers in their schools. The teacher leaders receive their own professional development from the Rutgers Center for Literacy Development. The specific research questions designed were: What do teacher leaders who receive professional development through a Literacy Center do as professional development providers once they return to their schools? What influences their activities? What are the supports and obstacles they face in doing so? The sample was comprised of three teacher leaders from a New Jersey District and their respective three principals. A case study was used to describe factors that influence the professional development that teacher leaders provided. Data collection sources were professional development session observations, teacher leader and principal interviews, and artifacts. Data from the interviews, professional development session observations, and examinations of relevant documents were used in order to discover emerging patterns. Data collection and analysis occurred simultaneously, as is the preferred and effective strategy in qualitative research design. The data indicated the following factors influencing the design and implementation of the professional development: teacher leader roles and internal resources, external resources, and relationships, along with the associated challenges. Used as a vehicle to transmit, facilitate and support ongoing teachers’ learning opportunities, teacher leaders can be necessary elements in the school’s organizational structure. Additionally, professional development organizations such as the Rutgers Center for Literacy Development can use this data to inform their offerings.Ed. D.Includes bibliographical referencesby Michelle L. Rose
Unearthing the essence of nature and the perception of the natural landscape among the amaXhosa in the Eastern Cape : an exploratory study
No full textThe recognition of the close link between the lifestyles of 'indigenous' and 'local' people
and biodiversity is widely acknowledged as crucial, not only for the survival of biological
diversity but also for the protection of cultural diversity. Most discussions centre on the
argument that cultural diversity can, through a wide variety of uses and practices, sustain and
conserve biodiversity, particularly in many developing countries.
However, local people's relationship with natural landscapes and the extent to which they
value biodiversity has not been fully explored and is in most cases misunderstood, which in
fact undermines the bio-cultural diversity link. This misunderstanding exists primarily
because the majority of environmental or ecological research conducted so far has been
oriented towards economic valuation, in quantifying the estimated value of plants and fauna
utilised by local people. As a result, biodiversity is primarily treated as a commodity, with
wild harvested plant products being classified as either having subsistence, or commercial
and medicinal value. This approach is narrow and conceals the critical, profound noneconomic
values of biodiversity among local communities in everyday life.
Literature indicates that biodiversity and natural landscapes also include less tangible values
such as spiritual, cultural, psychological and social values (e.g., sense of place, place
attachment, and psychologically restorative effects) which are crucial to human well-being.
This suggests that human-nature interaction is complex, and that the meanings and values that
people ascribe to natural landscapes cannot be solely reduced to economic values.
Nevertheless, to date, studies investigating these less tangible values have received little
attention in South Africa. As a result, we have very little understanding of what local and
indigenous communities value or appreciate with regard to natural landscapes, beyond their
general economic significance.
This study seeks to address this particular limitation by exploring non-economic values of
natural landscapes and their significances to local people while illuminating the complexities
inherent in human-nature interactions. I argue that the purely economic valuation of natural
resources is simplistic and biased, and therefore does not represent the complete meaning and
significance that natural resources may hold for local communities and households.
Therefore, this study takes an innovative psychological approach to explore in detail the everyday lived experiences of the amaXhosa in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. It seeks to
investigate the cultural, spiritual, and psychological values that ordinary people attach to
natural landscapes in the peri-urban and urban communities of Ndlambe Village l and
Grahamstown respectively. This research also aims to study the general perceptions of and
meanings ascribed to the natural landscape (referred to by the amaXhosa as ihlathi
lesiXhosa). In addition, it carefully integrates the Phenomenological and Transactional
approaches to investigate how the amaXhosa engage, interact, and find meaning within the
natural landscape. Furthermore, the study explores the impact of such landscape experiences
on local people's spiritual and psychological well-being, demonstrating it link to bio-cultural
diversity and conservation. The major findings in this study reflect that ihlathi lesiXhosa
provides a place for peace and tranquillity to enhance psychological restoration. Moreover,
ihlathi contributes towards redefining and strengthening personal and cultural identity; and
provides spiritual satisfaction in everyday life. Overall, the findings of this study indicate that
i!liathi lesiXhosa plays a profound role in both the personal and social lives of many
amaXhosa in the Eastern Cape in that it appears to improve their lives.
Therefore, the evidence in this study suggests that, among the amaXhosa, biodiversity and
natural landscape management processes should not aim to address and promote
ecologicallbiological and economic values in a compartmentalized manner independent of
other social, cultural, psychological, and more specifically the spiritual values of these
features. An increased understanding of these more intangible values and local people's value
system of biodiversity could help towards implementing improved biodiversity conservation
and landscape management strategies in South Africa. These insights would not only help us
to address the challenges of the previous conservation framework but would also encourage a
more inclusive, mutual benefiting process that respects local people's values and needs
Genetic influences on level and stability of self-esteem
No full textWe attempted to clarify the relation between self-esteem level (high vs. low) and perceived self-esteem stability (within-person variability) by using a behavioral genetics approach. We tested whether the same or independent genetic and environmental influences impact on level and stability. Adolescent twin siblings (n = 183 pairs) completed level and stability scales at two time points. Heritability for both was substantial. The remaining variance in each was attributable to non-shared environmental influences. Shared environmental influences were not significant. Level and stability of self-esteem shared common antecedents via genetic and non-shared environmental influences. Nonetheless, stability was influenced by substantial unique genetic and non-shared environmental influences. The results validate the notion that level and stability are partially autonomous components of self-esteem
What is biocultural diversity?: a theoretical review
No full textOver the past decade, scholars from various fields have increasingly emphasized the detrimental effects of global socioeconomic processes on biodiversity. The industrial revolution, the demographic explosion of Homo sapiens, and the rise of the global exchange economy are all implicated as major factors that influence the loss of species diversity. From the late 1980s onward, biosystematics and conservation biology have successfully brought this concern to the attention of the public. Biodiversity is increasingly recognized as an essential resource on which families, communities, and nations depend. Biologists, ecologists, and conservationists have further recognized that solutions to biological problems lie in the mechanisms of social, cultural, and economic systems, which has led to attempts to place a monetary value on species and ecosystems to calculate the cost of using and conserving biodiversity
The effects of extracellular matrix compliance and protein expression on neurons:
No full textExtracellular and intracellular cues affect neuronal morphology and contribute to brain diseases, such as schizophrenia, and injury. First, we examined how extracellular cues influence branching parameters of hippocampal neurons. Brain injury or disease can initiate changes in local or global stiffness of brain tissue. While stiffness of the extracellular environment is known to affect the morphology and function of many cell types, little is known about how the dendrites of neurons respond to changes in brain stiffness. We cultured hippocampal neurons on hydrogels composed of polyacrylamide of varying rigidities to mimic the effects of extracellular matrix stiffness on dendrite
morphology. At 12 days in vitro, dendrite branching was altered by stiffness; i.e. branching peaked in neurons grown on gels of intermediate stiffness (8 kPa). Furthermore, we found that ionotropic glutamate receptors play roles in regulating dendrite morphology. AMPA receptors play a role in dendritc arborization for harder stiffness, >2kPa, at all distances from the cell body. NMDA receptors play a role in dendritic arborization for a range of rigidities (1-25 kPa), at only proximal and intermediate distances from the cell body. However, a caveat to these studies is that cell adhesion is affected by the rigidity of these substrates. Addressing this caveat is of great importance because cell density affects dendrite branching. Thus, we also determined whether substrate stiffness plays a critical role in determining dendrite branching independent of cell density. We concluded that substrate stiffness does play a crucial role in determining dendrite branching patterns independent of cell number; however, the density of cells plated on substrates also influences the dendrite branching pattern of neurons. In the second chapter of my thesis, we looked at how intracellular proteins in different sections of the human brain are affected in schizophrenia. By Western blotting, we examined human, postmortem brain samples. NOS1AP protein expression increased in the dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex of patients with schizophrenia and not in the occipital lobe, medial temporal lobe, or cerebellum. Thus, this thesis demonstrates how extracellular and intracellular cues affect disease states, such as brain injury and schizophrenia.Ph.D.Includes bibliographical references (p. 101-119)by Michelle L. Previter
Biocultural diversity: moving beyond the realm of 'indigenous' and 'local' people
No full textDuring the past decade the relationship between biodiversity and human diversity has received increased attention, resulting in the identification of what the Declaration of Belém calls an `inextricable link¿ between biological and cultural diversity. Although the term biocultural diversity, introduced to denote this link, is being used increasingly, there has been little critical reflection on what it precisely refers to. I argue that it is used with particular reference to `indigenous traditional¿ people, but that there is scope for extending its application within biocultural discourse. I therefore review the concept of culture and discuss what constitutes cultural values of the natural environment. I conclude that the concept of culture must be understood as involving a dynamic process of transcultural exchange and constant re-articulations of tradition resulting in the persistence of certain cultural practices. This approach ultimately reveals that the concept of biocultural diversity is also applicable to non-indigenous traditional communitie
DNA fusion gene vaccination mobilizes effective anti-leukemic cytotoxic T lymphocytes from a tolerized repertoire
No full textThe majority of known human tumor-associated antigens derive from non-mutated self proteins. T cell tolerance, essential to prevent autoimmunity, must therefore be cautiously circumvented to generate cytotoxic T cell responses against these targets. Our strategy uses DNA fusion vaccines to activate high levels of peptide-specific CTL. Key foreign sequences from tetanus toxin activate tolerance-breaking CD4+ T cell help. Candidate MHC class Ibinding tumor peptide sequences are fused to the C terminus for optimal processing and presentation. To model performance against a leukemia-associated antigen in a tolerized setting, we constructed a fusion vaccine encoding an immunodominant CTL epitopederived from Friend murine leukemia virus gag protein (FMuLVgag) and vaccinated tolerant FMuLVgag-transgenic (gag-Tg) mice. Vaccination with the construct induced epitopespecificIFN-c-producing CD8+ T cells in normal and gag-Tg mice. The frequency and avidity of activated cells were reduced in gag-Tg mice, and no autoimmune injury resulted. However, these CD8+ T cells did exhibit gag-specific cytotoxicity in vitro and in vivo. Also, epitope-specific CTL killed FBL-3 leukemia cells expressing endogenous FMuLVgag antigen and protected against leukemia challenge in vivo. These results demonstrate a simple strategy to engage anti-microbial T cell help to activate epitope-specific polyclonal CD8+ T cell responses from a residual tolerized repertoire
Springfield historic context statement
No full textprepared for the City of Springfield, Oregon by Michelle L. Dennis, Historic Preservation Consultant.Title from PDF title page (viewed on January 28, 2020).This archived document is maintained by the State Library of Oregon as part of the Oregon Documents Depository Program. It is for informational purposes and may not be suitable for legal purposes.Includes bibliographical references (pages 93-100).Financed in part with federal funds from the National Park Service, Department of the Interior, in cooperation with the Oregon State Historic Preservation Office.Mode of access: Internet from the Oregon Government Publications Collection.Text in English
- …
