78 research outputs found
Replication Data for: The Pursuit of Social Welfare: Citizen Claim-Making in Rural India
No full textABSTRACT: Who makes claims on the state for social welfare, and how and why do they do so? This article examines these dynamics in the rural Indian context, observing that citizens living in the same local communities differ dramatically in their approaches to the state. The author develops a theory to explain these varied patterns of action and inaction, arguing that citizen claim-making is best understood as a product of exposure to people and places beyond the immediate community and locality. This social and spatial exposure builds citizens’ encounters with, knowledge of, and linkages to the state. This in turn develops their aspirations toward the state and their capabilities for state-targeted action. The author tests the theory in rural Rajasthan, drawing on a combination of original survey data and qualitative interviews. She finds that those who traverse boundaries of caste, neighborhood, and village are more likely to make claims on the state, and that they do so through broader repertoires of action, than those who are more constrained by the same boundaries. The article concludes by considering the extensions and limitations of the theory and the role of the state itself in establishing the terrain for citizen action
Replication Data for: The Pursuit of Social Welfare: Citizen Claim-Making in Rural India
No full textABSTRACT: Who makes claims on the state for social welfare, and how and why do they do so? This article examines these dynamics in the rural Indian context, observing that citizens living in the same local communities differ dramatically in their approaches to the state. The author develops a theory to explain these varied patterns of action and inaction, arguing that citizen claim-making is best understood as a product of exposure to people and places beyond the immediate community and locality. This social and spatial exposure builds citizens’ encounters with, knowledge of, and linkages to the state. This in turn develops their aspirations toward the state and their capabilities for state-targeted action. The author tests the theory in rural Rajasthan, drawing on a combination of original survey data and qualitative interviews. She finds that those who traverse boundaries of caste, neighborhood, and village are more likely to make claims on the state, and that they do so through broader repertoires of action, than those who are more constrained by the same boundaries. The article concludes by considering the extensions and limitations of the theory and the role of the state itself in establishing the terrain for citizen action
An Investigation Into The Neural Nature Of Persecutory Ideation
No full textUniversity of Minnesota Ph.D. dissertation.December 2016. Major: Psychology. Advisor: Angus MacDonald. 1 computer file (PDF); viii, 151 pages.Persecutory ideation is a common and distressing symptom that exists on a continuum with persecutory delusions. Although associated with severe negative consequences the neural mechanisms underlying persecutory ideation remain unclear. Contributing factors in this research deficit include i) low rates of studies specifically examining persecutory ideation, favoring instead broader symptom measurement, and ii) a lack of paradigms that sufficiently engage or examine specific mechanisms associated with the symptom. In this dissertation, a wide range of literature is reviewed to identify brain regions consistently associated with delusions or positive symptoms in order to aid development of a model of persecutory ideation and stimulate research. Brain regions highlighted by the review represented a convergence of neurobiological models of delusions, and were the focus of two empirical studies. In the first study we employed a novel economic social decision-making task in two samples during neuroimaging. We demonstrated a dorsal anterior cingulate and anterior insula (dACC-AI) network, a left frontal-parietal (lF-P) network, and a ventral medial orbital prefrontal (vmPFC/OFC) network were associated with distinct forms of distrust. We then revealed only the connectivity between the vmPFC/OFC and lF-P networks predicted persecutory ideation, suggesting a role of weakened top-down control on subjective valuation. Moreover, we established this mechanism was associated with unique environmental influence in community monozygotic twins. In our second study we aimed to replicate the task-based finding in two resting-state samples to demonstrate generalizability of the mechanism; however, confirmatory analyses did not replicate. In summary, the posited vmPFC/OFC - lF-P interconnectivity mechanism of persecutory ideation appears to be uniquely evoked by the economic social decision-making task. While this provides a novel perspective on persecutory ideation, replications in larger samples are needed.Wisner, Krista. (2016). An Investigation Into The Neural Nature Of Persecutory Ideation. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/202162
Individual differences in intrinsic connectivity Networks I: retest and validation in resting state.
No full textUniversity of Minnesota M.A. thesis. April 29012. Major: Psychology. Advisor: Angus W. MacDonald III, Ph.D., 1 computer file (PDF); vi, 63 pages, appendix p. 63.Connectivity of the resting brain can be empirically parsed into distinct networks which closely resemble patterns of evoked task-based brain activity, and have a biological and genetic basis. Recently, these intrinsic connectivity networks (ICNs) have become a popular method for investigating brain functioning and brain-behavior relationships with external variables such as personality or psychiatric symptoms. However, replication studies are needed to test the correspondence, neurometrics, and associations observed for these networks across independent samples. Using a meta-level independent component analysis (ICA), we produced ICNs from three datasets collected from two samples of healthy adults, and demonstrate robust and independent replication of twelve ICNs. In each dataset, the ICNs were found to reflect sixteen task-based networks. Networks involved in executive functions, speech and audition, default mode processing, vision, and interoception showed the greatest spatial reliability and reproducibility; whereas, only the networks associated with the right-lateralized executive functions and speech-audition demonstrated at least fair within-subject reliability over time. We also demonstrated regions with the highest connectivity were disjointed from regions with the highest reliability. Additionally, we tested the ability for connectivity to reliably predict cognitive performance, which showed a trend-level finding implicating the default-mode network in attention and concentration. Take as a whole, our findings agree with current hypotheses which postulate that intrinsic connectivity sustains, at rest, representations and modes of functioning from which task-evoked patterns of activation and connectivity are produced.Wisner, Krista Michelle. (2012). Individual differences in intrinsic connectivity Networks I: retest and validation in resting state.. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/125804
What I Learned During My Student Teaching
No full text16 p.The author describes her experience as a student teacher in high school mathematics
ASSAY AND INHIBITION OF GLYOXALASE I
No full textGlyoxalase I is an enzyme which catalyzes the conversion of hemimercaptals derived from substituted glyoxals and glutathione to the corresponding substituted thioesters of (alpha)-hydroxyacetic acid. This reaction is thought to proceed through an enediol intermediate. Inhibition of this enzyme was investigated in order to delineate the steric and mechanistic factors which are important to its mechanism of action.A variety of S-substituted glutathione derivatives were synthesized and found to be good to excellent competitive inhibitors of glyoxalase I. Ki's ranged from 10('-3) M to < 10('-5) M for a series of S-alkyl-, S-carbamoyl-, S-acyl-, and S-(acylmethyl)-glutathiones. New compounds prepared and evaluated included S-(n-butylcarbamoyl)-, S-(cyclohexylcarbamoyl)-, S-(5-iodopentylcarbamoyl)-, and S-(ethoxycarbonylcarbamoyl)-glutathiones, S-phenylacetyl glutathione, S-trans-cinnamyl glutathione, S-trans-cinnamoyl glutathione, and S-(p-phenylphenacyl)-glutathione. No inhibition was observed for any compound in a group which included hydroxamic acids, (beta)-keto carboxylic acid derivatives, and small molecules with enediol structures.Some of the compounds investigated absorb strongly at 240 nm, the wavelength of observation for the usual assay employing methylglyoxal as the enzyme cosubstrate. It was demonstrated that compounds which themselves absorb strongly at the wavelength of measurement may give an apparent decrease in the absorbance changes on which enzyme activity calculations are based, even when these compounds are contained in separate absorption cells. An alternative assay of glyoxalase I activity employing phenylglyoxal, a stable crystalline solid, as substrate was developed. The method, which is based on observation of the decrease in absorbance at 263 nm, the phenylglyoxal-glutathione hemimercaptal isosbestic point, is reliable, precise, and convenient. It proved useful both for routine assays and for evaluation of strongly-absorbing compounds for which the standard methylglyoxal assay gave inaccurate results.It was concluded that inhibition is optimized when one end of the inhibitor is glutathione and the other end is bulky and hydrophobic, preferably containing one or more aromatic rings. The exact structure of the middle region is much less important, even when it either is an analog of the presumed enediol intermediate or can enolize to such a structure.Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 44-02, Section: B, page: 4760.Ph.D. American University 1983.Englis
It is essential to connect: Evaluating a Science Communication Boot Camp
No full textScientific knowledge has expanded dramatically in the 21st century. Yet, even in science where there is large consensus among the studies—evolution by natural selection, for example, or the human basis of accelerated climate change—the public and policymakers are not always in agreement with the science. To bridge this gap, scientists and educators need to connect and engage with diverse audiences with varying levels of science literacy. Communication scholars have identified several effective tactics to communicate effectively with non‐specialist audiences. However, our sometimes‐siloed thinking in science and higher education discourages sharing this knowledge across disciplinary lines. Furthermore, many training programs focus on educating about which communication strategies work, but they fail to provide participants with the opportunity to develop the skills required to listen effectively and respond in an engaging way. To that end, we created the Science Communication Boot Camp (SCBC) with support from an American Association for Anatomy innovations grant. The 3‐day program engaged and immersed participants in training designed to develop audience‐centered communication, distill scientific concepts into meaningful narratives, and connect effectively with the public, collaborators, and policymakers. Based on participant surveys at three timepoints (preworkshop, postworkshop, and 2‐year follow‐up), the SCBC was effective in helping participants to increase their communication skills and willingness to engage with the public and other non‐specialist audiences
T239. Validation of an Instrument Assessing State and Trait Auditory Hallucinations: From Psychometrics to Brain Connectivity
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