2,595 research outputs found
Post-Foucauldian governmentality: what does it offer critical social policy analysis?
No full textThis article considers the theoretical perspective of post-Foucauldian governmentality, especially the insights and challenges it poses for applied researchers within the critical social policy tradition. The article firstly examines the analytical strengths of this approach to understanding power and rule in contemporary society, before moving on to consider its limitations for social policy. It concludes by arguing that these insights can be retained, and some of the weaknesses overcome, by adopting a ‘realist governmentality’ approach (Stenson 2005, 2008). This advocates combining traditional discursive analysis with more ethnographic methods in order to render visible the concrete activity of governing, and unravel the messiness, complexity and unintended consequences involved in the struggles around subjectivity
A review of animal welfare implications of the Canadian commercial seal hunt
No full textAbstract not availablePierre-Yves Daoust, Mike Hammill, Garry Stenson, Charles Carague
In proportion: race and police stop and search
No full textEqual contributions by Stenson and Waddington, based on their commissioned work on police stop and search of minorities for Thames Valley Police. Led to numerous invitations to present papers and has been widely cited internationally
Social work discourses and the social work interview
No full textThis thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.It will be argued that, in order to understand particular exchanges between social workers and clients, it is essential to go beyond the view that sees them simply in terms of interaction between unique persons, and locate them within the wider discursive settings within which they occur. Most of the talk which takes place in these interviews concerns problematic issues within family life, particularly in terms of the relationships between parents and children. Behind these apparently mundane conversations lie agendas of social work issues which have been constructed historically with the rise of the caring professions. The early part of the thesis is concerned with uncovering the historically constructed norms of acceptable motherhood which underpin social work strategies with families and which help set the agendas of interviews. Then the analysis focuses on how general norms and objectives are translated into operational, professional techniques. This theme is carried forward through a focus on the social settings in which interviews take place, the building up of subject positions within interviews, for social worker and client, and the implications of translating from a predominantly oral to a literate based, professional mode of discourse. Finally, the analysis is concerned with the tentative attempts, marked by ambiguity and resistance, to go beyond the mere monitoring of the life of the client, and draw her/him into a form of discourse which is openly committed to social work aims, where the client seems to want to present his or her life problems in terms which are intelligible to, and manageable within, the strategies open to the social worker
Studies of LXR and CIDEA function in human adipocytes
No full textObesity, defined as a body mass index of 30 or above, is the result of an imbalance of energy intake and energy expenditure. In the last decade, the obesity prevalence has truly reached epidemic proportions with major effects on public health. Obesity is closely associated with insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, hyperlipidemia and atherosclerosis. On the other end of the spectra, cancer cachexia is a poor diagnostic factor in cancer patients. It is characterized by a state of unintentional weight loss, primarily of body fat but also of lean body mass. Although the mechanisms behind the loss of adipose tissue are not completely understood, lipolysis seems to be a major factor.Adipose tissue is an important metabolic and endocrine organ. One of the most important functions of the adipocyte is lipolysis, the hydrolysis of triglycerides to free fatty acids (FFA) and glycerol. This is a tightly regulated process of great importance to the whole-body metabolism. The FFAs can either be released into the circulation, to be used as energy substrate by other organs and tissues, or utilized within the adipocyte for re-esterification or lipid oxidation. The process of lipid oxidation in adipocytes is controlled in part by the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC), an important regulator of substrate oxidation in adipocytes. This complex is inactivated when phosphorylated by pyruvate dehydrogenase kinases (PDKs), which promotes lipid oxidation rather than glucose oxidation.The aim of this thesis was to investigate how two factors, the liver x receptor (LXR) and cell death-inducing DNA fragmentation factor-α-like effector A (CIDEA) affect adipose tissue metabolism. LXR is a nuclear receptor and a known regulator of cholesterol, lipid and carbohydrate metabolism. CIDEA is almost exclusively expressed in white adipocytes in humans and can affect critical metabolic functions such as lipolysis.In paper I, we investigated the role of CIDEA in cancer cachexia. We measured levels of CIDEA in subcutaneous adipose tissue from subjects suffering from cancer cachexia and compared these to weight-stable cancer patients and noncancer patients. Levels of CIDEA mRNA were increased in cancer cachexia and correlated with elevated levels of FFAs and weight loss. Over-expression of CIDEA increased fatty acid oxidation in human adipocytes in culture and decreased glucose oxidation. Furthermore, augmented levels of CIDEA enhanced the expression of PDK1 and PDK4, and the phosphorylation of PDC. In accordance with this, mRNA levels of PDK1 and PDK4 in the clinical material correlated with CIDEA expression. In conclusion, CIDEA is involved in loss of adipose tissue in cancer cachexia at least in part due to its ability to inactivate PDC and thereby switch substrate oxidation in human adipocytes from glucose to lipids.In papers II and III, the role of LXR in human adipocyte function was studied, with focus on substrate oxidation (paper II) and lipolysis (paper III). In paper II, we treated human adipocytes with the LXR agonist GW3965 and observed an increased fatty acid and decreased glucose oxidation. We showed that LXR activation can increase the mRNA level of PDK4 and thereby the phosphorylation of PDC. We also showed a decreased activity of PDC, which was found to be dependent on PDK4. Furthermore, we could establish that the effect of GW3965 on lipid oxidation was specific for LXR, since it was abolished upon knockdown of LXR. In conclusion, we suggest that LXR has an important role in the regulation of substrate oxidation in human adipocytes, at least in part by influencing the phosphorylation status of PDC.In paper III, LXR activation was shown to up-regulate glycerol release from human adipocytes. Based on microarray analysis we found a strong impact of LXR activation on known lipolysis-regulating genes. We showed differences in expression and localization of perilipin 1 (PLIN1) and hormone sensitive lipase (HSL). When PLIN1 is depleted, the effect of LXR is abolished. Furthermore, we showed binding of LXR and its heterodimerizing partner Retinoid X Receptor to the promoters of HSL and PLIN1 upon LXR activation. We also demonstrated that LXRα is the predominant isoform involved in regulation of adipocyte lipolysis within this context. In conclusion, we proposed that LXR activation up-regulates adipocyte lipolysis, at least in part through LXR binding to the promoter of PLIN1 and down-regulation of PLIN1 expression.In conclusion, we suggest that CIDEA and LXR can affect central functions of adipocyte metabolism, namely lipolysis and substrate oxidation. We show that CIDEA is involved in the loss of adipose tissue in cancer cachexia and that this is at least in part due to a shift in substrate oxidation. Activation of LXR in human adipocytes increases fatty acid oxidation and lipolysis, through effects on PDC and PLIN1. The findings in this thesis are of importance for conditions of dysregulated adipose tissue metabolism, such as obesity and cachexia.List of scientific papersI. Laurencikiene J, Stenson BM, Nordström EA, Agustsson T, Langin D, Isaksson B, Permert J, Rydén M, Arner P. Evidence of an Important Role of CIDEA in Human Cancer Cachexia. Cancer Research. 2008 68(22)9247-9254. https://doi.org/10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-08-1343 II. Stenson BM, Rydén M, Steffensen KR, Wåhlén K, Pettersson AT, Jocken JW, Arner P, Laurencikiene J. Activation of Liver X Receptor Regulates Substrate Oxidation in White Adipocytes. Endocrinology. 2009 150(9)4104-4113. https://doi.org/10.1210/en.2009-0676 III. Stenson BM, Rydén M, Venteclef N, Dahlman I, Pettersson AML, Mairal A, Åström G, Blomqvist G, Wang V, Jocken JW, Clément K, Langin D, Arner P, Laurencikiene J. Liver X Receptor (LXR) Regulates Human Adipocyte Lipolysis. Journal of Biological Chemistry. 2011 286(1)370-379. https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M110.179499 </p
On the role of the counter-ion in defining water structure and dynamics: order, structure and dynamics in hydrophilic and hydrophobic gadolinium salt complexes.
No full textThe crystal structures of the hydrated salts of [Gd.DOTAM]3+ and its more hydrophobic derivative [Gd.]3+, bearing 4 alpha-phenylethyl groups, (both Gd and Yb salts) are reported and compared. The nature of the anion determines the degree of ordering in the lattice and the extent of hydration. These effects are correlated with the results of 17O and 1H NMR measurements of water exchange dynamics in solution. With [Gd.DOTAM]3+, structural ordering or the extent of hydration in the hydrated lattice follows the sequence Cl->Br->I- and this order also defines the water exchange rate in solution: 7.3, 19.5, 33.3x10(4) s-1 (298 K), respectively. For [Gd.]3+ salts, the measured relaxivity is determined purely by the outer sphere term and the water exchange rate at 298 K is very similar (typically 1x10(4) s-1) for chloride, bromide, iodide, acetate, triflate and nitrate salts, notwithstanding the different nature and extent of hydration found in the crystalline lattice
Planning for the mobile library: a strategy for managing innovation and transformation at the University of Glasgow Library
No full textModern mobile devices have powerful features that are transforming access to information. Lippincott argues that as mobile devices such as smartphones become ‘key information devices’ for our users, libraries will want to have a significant presence in offering content and services that are suitable for this medium. This article outlines the process of development and implementation of a mobile strategy at the University of Glasgow Library. What began as an investigation into a mobile interface to the library catalogue evolved into a comprehensive strategic review of how we deliver services now and in the future in this rapidly changing mobile environment
Transforming Scotland's public sector housing through community ownership: the reterritorialisation of housing governance?
No full textIn recent decades, UK public-sector housing has increasingly been problematised, with government solutions focusing on modernising the sector by transferring ownership of the housing from the public to the voluntary sector through stock transfer. This promises to transform the organisation of social housing by devolving control from local government to housing organisations located within, and governed by, the communities in which they are based. The Scottish Executive's national housing policy of community ownership is the epitome of this governmental rationale par excellence. Drawing upon empirical research on the 2003 Glasgow housing stock transfer, this paper argues that, whilst community ownership is underpinned by governmental rationales that seek to establish community as the new territory of social housing governance, the realisation of these political ambitions has been marred by emergent central-local conflict. Paradoxically, the fragmentation of social housing through the break-up of municipal provision, co-exists with continued political centralisation within the state apparatus
Study of the decay mode D-0 -> K-K-K+pi(+)
No full textAbstractUsing data from the FOCUS (E831) experiment at Fermilab, we present a new measurement of the branching ratio for the Cabibbo-favored decay mode D0→K−K−K+π+. From a sample of 143±19 fully reconstructed D0→K−K−K+π+ events, we measure Γ(D0→K−K−K+π+)/Γ(D0→K−π−π+π+)=0.00257±0.00034(stat.)±0.00024(syst.). A coherent amplitude analysis has been performed to determine the resonant substructure of this decay mode. This analysis reveals a dominant contribution from φ and K∗0(892) states
A non-parametric approach to measuring the K- π+ amplitudes in D+ → K- K+ π+ decay
No full textUsing a large sample of D+ → K- K+ π+ decays collected by the FOCUS photoproduction experiment at Fermilab, we present the first non-parametric analysis of the K- π+ amplitudes in D+ → K- K+ π+ decay. The technique is similar to the technique used for our non-parametric measurements of the D+ → over(K, ̄)* 0 e+ ν form factors. Although these results are in rough agreement with those of E687, we observe a wider S-wave contribution for the over(K, ̄)0* 0 (1430) contribution than the PDG [W.-M. Yao, et al., J. Phys. G 33 (2006) 1], world average mass and width. We have some weaker evidence for the existence of a new, D-wave component at low values of the K- π+ mass. © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
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