21 research outputs found
Surface Acoustic Waves-Based Molecular Recognition of a Collagen Receptor on Human Erythrocytes
No full textIntegrin-mediated binding is important for the metastatic dissemination of different types of cancer cells. Snake venom disintegrins obtustatin and echistatin are potent, irreversible, and selective inhibitors of α1β1 and αvβ3 integrins, respectively. Obtustatin is one of the shortest disintegrins yet described, containing 41 amino acids. It has a similar pattern of cysteines to the other disintegrin echistatin but with a KTS motif rather than a classic RGD in its active site. A surface acoustic wave biosensor was applied to prove the molecular recognition of disintegrins by their substrates. The human erythrocyte ghost cells were immobilized at the sensors to allow for the detection of kinetic binding constants of disintegrins compared to the surface of giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs). Obtustatin binds to the erythrocyte ghost membrane with affinity in the mid-nanomolar range (2.32 × 10–7 M), and echistatin in the low micromolar range, which indicates specific molecular recognition for both disintegrins, but the higher response for obtustatin. The data directly confirm that disintegrins bind to the erythrocyte ghost membrane, thereby supporting the previously overlooked presence of integrins in red blood cell membranes
The Daily Show and philosophy: Moment of Zen in the art of fake news
No full textRoben Torosyan is a contributing author, Public discourse and the Stewart model of critical thinking , p. 107-120.
Book description: An entertaining and insightful examination of the Emmy-award winning American satirical news show, broadcast on Comedy Central in the US, and (in an edited edition) on More4 in the UK and CNN International around the world. * Includes discussion of both The Daily Show and its spin-off show, The Colbert Report * Showcases philosophers at their best, discussing truth, knowledge, reality and the American Way * Highlights the razor sharp critical skills of Jon Stewart and his colleagues * Faces tough and surprisingly funny questions about politics, religion, and power head on. - Publisher description.https://digitalcommons.fairfield.edu/cae-books/1005/thumbnail.jp
Economic Feasibility, General Economic Impact and Implications of a Free Trade Agreement Between the European Union and Armenia
No full textThis study of the feasibility, costs and benefits of a free trade agreement between the EU and Armenia was conducted from July 2007 to April 2008 under contract with the European Commission. The first meeting in Brussels in September 2007 with Staff members of Directorates-General for Trade, External Relations, Economic and Financial Affairs, Internal Market and Services, Competition, Enterprise and Industry proved indispensable in our work on this report. During mission to Yerevan in October 2007 the consultations were held with a number of ministries, research institutes and business organizations. We greatly benefited from consultations with the representatives of the Ministry of Energy, Customs State Committee, Ministry of Trade and Economic Development, Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Union of Manufacturers and Businessmen (Employers) of Armenia, National Institute of Standards, Wine Producers Union, Ministry of Finance and Economy AEPLAC Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Armenian Development Agency UNDP, IMF and the World Bank. The European Commission Delegation to Armenia provided us with extensive information, consultation on key policy issues and organizational support, for chich we are very grateful. Several authors contributed to this study. David Dyker is the author of the introductory section (chapter 2) and the analysis of services sectors (chapter 7). Michael Emerson is the author of section on regional integration scenarios (chapter 3) and he also provided very valuable comments on all chapters in this study. Sveta Taran, Peter Holmes and Michael Gasiorek are the authors of chapter 4 employing the Sussex Framework to study the impact of FTA. Michael Gasiorek and Peter Holmes also provided valuable comments on the CGE modelling section. Evgeny Polyakov, Andrei Roudoi as well as Gevorg Torosyan contributed to the chapter on the institutional and regulatory harmonization (chapter 5). The team from the Global Insight including Andre Jungmittag, Vicki Korchagin, Evgeny Polyakov and Andrei Roudoi supervised the implementation of the survey and completed the analysis of the survey results (chapter 6). Also the same team from Global Insight contributed chapter 10 on sensitive sectors. The implementation of the survey of NTBs was conducted by AVAG Solutions under the supervision of Vardan Baghdasaryan and Melik Gasparyan. The analysis of FDI flows and their likely trends following an FTA was prepared by Malgorzata Jakubiak, while the estimation of the potential FDI flows was completed by Alina Kudina (section 8.4). The CGE analysis (chapter 9) was prepared by Maryla Maliszewska, who also acted as the project manager and the editor of the study. Finally, conclusions are a collective work of all the authors. Sierz Naurodski and Elena Kozarzewska provided an excellent administrative support. I would like to take his opportunity to thank them all for their cooperation, valuable contributions and comments.European Neighborhood Policy, free trade agreement, institutional harmonization, EU, Armenia
Integral education: New directions for higher learning
No full textRoben Torosyan is a contributing author, Teaching Integratively: Five Dimensions of Transformation .
Book description: Leading researchers and practitioners explore the frontiers of education from an Integral perspective.The educational challenges faced today are driving us toward a new step in the evolution of educational theory and practice. Educators are called to go beyond simply presenting alternatives, to integrating the best of mainstream and alternative approaches and taking them to the next level. Integral Education accomplishes this by bringing together leading researchers and practitioners from higher education who are actively exploring the frontiers of education from an integral perspective. It presents an overview of the emerging landscape of integral education from a variety of theoretical and applied perspectives. Key characteristics of integral education include exploring multiple perspectives, employing different pedagogical techniques (e.g., reflective, dialogical, empirical), combining conceptual rigor with embodied experience, drawing on developmental psychology, and cultivating a reflective and transformative space for students and teachers alike. Integral Education provides the most comprehensive synopsis of this exciting new approach and serves as a valuable resource for any integral effort within education. - Publisher descriptionhttps://digitalcommons.fairfield.edu/cae-books/1001/thumbnail.jp
Stephen Colbert and philosophy: I am philosophy (and so can you!)
No full textRoben Torosyan is a contributing author, Things that make you go “what?”, p. 29-49).
Book description: In Stephen Colbert\u27s recent commencement address at Princeton University, he told the graduates not to change the world. And on the very first episode of The Colbert Report, he coined the term truthiness, which means not what is true, but rather what feels true. (The American Dialect Society subsequently voted truthiness 2005 Word of the Year, joining the august ranks of plutoed, red state, and metrosexual. ) Stephen Colbert, both the man and his body of work, represents a particularly rich set of philosophical issues. For one, the concept of truth is central to all branches of philosophy, and the very idea that someone is promoting (even if only satirically) the truthy over the truth raises a whole host of philosophical concerns: Has truthiness taken the place of truth? Is it all just truthiness, anyway? Colbert has coined other terms that scintillate philosophers as well, such as Wikiality (a reality determined by human agreement as opposed to something more objective) and Freem (freedom without the do). No doubt about it, philosophers love Colbert, who majored in philosophy at Hampden-Sydney College, and not only because he plays with concepts that are central to philosophy in his comedy. In addition, he is a pop-culture phenomenon worthy of philosophical interest in his own right. For instance, what does it mean for the state of political and cultural discourse in America that Colbert, a faux-pundit openly mocking the Fox News and CNN pundits, is so popular? Does Colbert add anything positive to that discourse, or is he just a cynical force with no positive impact? Stephen Colbert and Philosophy is crammed with thoughtful and amusing chapters, each more profound than all the others, all written by philosophers, and all focused unwaveringly on the topic of Stephen Colbert. Although most of the discussion is centered around his Comedy Central show, The Colbert Report, his best-selling book I Am America (And So Can You!) is not neglected, nor are his public performances. Indeed not! You’ll find at least a few choice paragraphs examining Colbert\u27s incendiary 2006 White House Press Correspondents\u27 Dinner, where he said of President Bush, I stand by this man. I stand by this man because he stands for things. Not only for things, he stands on things. Things like aircraft carriers, and rubble, and recently flooded city squares. In a similar manner, Stephen Colbert and Philosophy stands for things. Things you will want to know, or at least know of, generally speaking. Read it today, and you too will proudly proclaim: I am Philosophy (And So Can You!) -- Publisher description.https://digitalcommons.fairfield.edu/cae-books/1003/thumbnail.jp
Listening: Beyond Telling to “Being” What We Want To Teach
No full textIn response to a culture of polarized argument, this paper shows a way to provide people with practice at deep listening and understanding. The author examines ways in which self-disclosure about problems of dialog may be an ideal means for teachers or leaders to show people alternate ways of being in the world of meaning making
Spirituality in Higher Education: Autoethnographies
No full textRoben Torosyan is a contributing co-author (with Eileen O\u27Shea, Tracey Robert and Betsy Bowen), Spirituality & Professional Collegiality: Espirit de \u27Core\u27 , Chapter 5.
Book description: This collection of articles explores how a wide range of academics-- diverse in location, rank and discipline-- understand and express how they deal with spirituality in their professional lives and how they integrate spirituality in teaching, research, administration, and advising. The contributors also analyze the culture of academia and its challenges to the spiritual development of those involved. Twenty chapter authors--from a variety of faith traditions--discuss the ways in which their own beliefs have affected their journeys through higher education. By using an autoethnographic, self-analytical lens, this collection shows how various spiritualities have influenced how higher education is understood, taught and performed. The book will stimulate debate and conversations on a topic traditionally ignored in academia.- Publisher descriptionhttps://digitalcommons.fairfield.edu/cae-books/1000/thumbnail.jp
Self-reflections on group dynamics
No full textThis article provides a first-person account of a training program in group dynamics. It is deliberately written in the first-person to capture the highly personal nature of group dynamic analysis. Proceeding through an intensive account of six days of T-groups, module facilitation, and facilitator feedback sessions, the author examines painful emotions and complicated reasoning that arose in encountering several relational and intrapsychic conflicts. In particular, feelings such as needing approval and leaping to respond to various triggers are emphasized and several alternatives are suggested. Applications are implied for teachers, psycho-therapists, and facilitators of groups of many kinds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR
Refreshed & Humbled: Altered Assumptions about Power and Payoffs
No full textThe author starts with a focus on a long-term, shifting relationship with work-study students serving as students consultants in his class, then takes an outward turn as he describes how he included graduate student voices from around the country as he wrote an external grant to support partnerships between research and teaching intensive institutions
Teaching self-authorship and self-regulation: A story of resistance and transformation
No full textStudies show that many learners feel resistant to or otherwise under-prepared for learning challenges due to underdeveloped ability to self-regulate or adapt thoughts, feelings, and actions to attain their own personal goals. This narrative account illustrates pathways and pitfalls in evoking such behavior and encouraging self-authorship—the internal defining of beliefs, identity and relationships. The author describes a project in which an initially resistant student generated creative, if short-lived, solutions to personal struggles. Helpful educational interventions included questioning behavioral patterns, establishing high expectations, and reinforcing belief in ability to change. Oversights and missed opportunities included unintentionally inviting mimicry and remaining ignorant of researched practices for fostering transformation
