1,449 research outputs found
Evaluation as adventure: taking that risk
No full textHelen Simons traces the values that underpin her preferred methodology of case study and democratic evaluation to the central values she gained from the land of her birth. She looks back to consider what early experiences may have influenced her deep commitment to these values and how they impacted on her professional world as a teacher, a psychologist, and an evaluator. Her interview transcript which was a stimulus for this article is here: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/wol1/doi/10.1002/ev.20302/suppinfo. Read only. This should not be used in any form without explicit permission from the author.</p
Abstract PR20: A 53BP1 integrates DNA repair and p53-dependent cell fate decisions via distinct mechanisms
No full textAbstract
The tumor suppressor protein 53BP1 was first identified as a p53-interacting protein over two decades ago, however its direct contribution to p53-dependent cellular activities has remained enigmatic. Having reinvestigated the link between 53BP1 and p53, we now show 53BP1 plays an important role in directly stimulating genome-wide p53-dependent gene transactivation and repression events in response to ionizing radiation (IR) and synthetic p53 activation. We have also fine-mapped the domains in 53BP1 that modulate p53 activity and reveal it requires both auto-oligomerization and its tandem-BRCT domain-mediated bivalent interactions with p53 and the ubiquitin-specific protease USP28. Loss of 53BP1 or USP28 catalytic activities results in inefficient p53-dependent cell-cycle checkpoint and exit responses. Mechanistically, we show 53BP1-USP28 cooperation to be essential for stimulating normal p53-promoter element interactions and downstream gene transactivation-associated events, yet dispensable for 53BP1-dependent DSB repair regulation. Collectively, our data indicate a upstream role for 53BP1-USP28 complexes in priming p53's transcriptional potential, providing a mechanistic explanation for 53BP1-p53 cooperation in controlling anti-tumorigenic cell-fate decisions. Moreover, we reveal these activities to be distinct and separable from 53BP1's regulation of DNA double-strand break repair pathway choice, and establish the prime function for the 53BP1 BRCT domain and its interaction partner USP28. Our study therefore defines important and novel functions for 53BP1 in enforcing a vital tumor suppressor pathway that are likely to contribute to tumor suppression. In the meeting we will describe these findings and update on recent progress.
This abstract is also being presented as Poster B04.
Citation Format: Raquel Cuella-Martin, Catarina Oliveira, Helen E. Lockstone, Suzanne Snellenberg, Natalia Grolmusova, J Ross Chapman. A 53BP1 integrates DNA repair and p53-dependent cell fate decisions via distinct mechanisms [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on DNA Repair: Tumor Development and Therapeutic Response; 2016 Nov 2-5; Montreal, QC, Canada. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Res 2017;15(4_Suppl):Abstract nr PR20.</jats:p
Making use of historical case material – the problems of looking back and the implications for service development in relation to research and evaluation activities
No full textThis methodological paper details the process of embarking on a follow-up study of young people with sexual behaviour problems who were known to services in the 1990s and who are now young adults in their twenties or early thirties. In the context of the importance of such follow-up work, the overall aim and objectives of the funded research project are specified and the challenges presented in setting up research partnerships with service sites, including the negotiation of access and ethical approval, are the subject of overview and reflection. The practicalities of beginning the fieldwork which comprised an initial analysis of historical case material held in the research sites are then detailed and the solutions to the problems encountered are explained. The article concludes by identifying the kinds of questions services and researchers need to consider when wanting to engender or enhance a research culture which is facilitative of this kind of outcome research. These relate to the resources necessary to support a research culture, the requirements of data protection and ethical approval processes, obtaining service user consent to participate in future research, secure but accessible storage of records, staff development and researchers’ obligations to minimise disruption to already hard pressed services
Helen in Egypt, a Hidden Hathor? An Intercultural Study of Ancient Female Agency
No full textiv, 98 p.This Senior Individualized Project utilizes feminist agency theory to explore intercultural connections between the Egyptian goddess Hathor and the semi-divine Greek heroine Helen of Troy. While Helen has received considerable attention from modem feminist scholars, Hathor has not. The author examines Hathor and Helen's agency as daughters, wives, mothers, and destroyers in a variety of ancient Greek, Latin, and Egyptian sources, such as Euripides' Helen, Vergil's Aeneid, and the Egyptian "Destruction of Mankind." Feminist agency theory reveals similarities in Helen and Hathor's mythos, including celestial paternal origins and a connection to Egypt. She investigates Hathor's possible influence on Helen's mythos, particularly Helen's Egyptian sojourn and her eidolon, or "phantom." The results of this study will hopefully encourage modem classicists and Egyptologists to give more consideration to the relationship between Egypt and Greece. Such consideration could reveal hidden connections between the two civilizations, as done here with Hathor and Helen
Researching the History of Rites
No full textThis chapter discusses the potential of liturgical rites as sources,
some practical ways in which one can work with this material, some problems
that are likely to be encountered, and some possible directions for future
research. The focus is on how one can go about doing such research into medieval liturgical rituals
Exon array data analysis using affymetrix power tools and R statistical software
No full textThe use of microarray technology to measure gene expression on a genome-wide scale has been well established for more than a decade. Methods to process and analyse the vast quantity of expression data generated by a typical microarray experiment are similarly well-established. The Affymetrix Exon 1.0 ST array is a relatively new type of array, which has the capability to assess expression at the individual exon level. This allows a more comprehensive analysis of the transcriptome, and in particular enables the study of alternative splicing, a gene regulation mechanism important in both normal conditions and in diseases. Some aspects of exon array data analysis are shared with those for standard gene expression data but others present new challenges that have required development of novel tools. Here, I will introduce the exon array and present a detailed example tutorial for analysis of data generated using this platform
Notes on meteorological balloon mission planning
No full textIn the 21st century the high altitude gas balloon remains an indispensable tool in atmospheric science, meteorology and other applications requiring stratospheric observations. A prerequisite of the effectiveness of many types of balloon operations is an accurate trajectory forecasting capability, complete with appropriate error estimates. This is particularly important in targeted flights, sample return missions or flights of expensive instruments, whose recovery is essential. The ASTRA (Atmospheric Science Through Robotic Aircraft) initiative led to the development of such a forecast model, which is at the centre of the present paper. A key source of error in such models is our incomplete understanding of the drag opposing the rise of balloons in the free atmosphere – here we propose a new, stochastic model based on empirical data derived from thousands of radiosonde flights. We also examine other sources of prediction error affecting the accuracy of the flight path forecast, such as uncertainties in the wind profile and balloon envelope manufacturing variability. A Monte Carlo framework is used to provide probabilistic touchdown point estimates taking these error sources into account. The above elements have been integrated into a web service, which can be used as a flight planning tool – here we review the key features of its architecture
Article about Helen Hunley
No full textNewspaper Article - Article about Helen Hunley - Alberta's First Woman Lieutenant Governor by Lynn Neuman McDowell of The Advocate.AWI CollectionBy LYNN NEUMAN
MCDOWELL
of The Advocate
" Don't call me Ms.!"
This from the first woman
to be lieutenant- governor of
Alberta, the first solicitor
general of the province and
first woman to hold a full —
and massive — government
portfolio in Alberta.
When Helen Hunley, who
t u r n s 66 today, began her
political career as a Rocky
Mountain House town councillor
in 1960, she wasn't
championing a cause for the
women's movement or anybody
else. She was, she
thought, simply doing her
civic duty.
That sense of duty has
taken her from a farm implement
dealership to a government
position that supercedes
the premier's. Through
it all, she's been Miss Hunley
— Second World War lieutenant,
first woman mayor of
Rocky Mountain House,
minister of Social Services,
and president of the Alberta
Progressive Conservative
party.
Now, however, she's Your
Honor. And she'll let you
know if you forget. It's not
personal pride. It's part of
her job as the I2th lieutenant-
governor of Alberta, personal
representative of the
Queen.
" Whether they like me or
not, care about me or anything
else, they should respect
the office. That's what I
want people to do — respect
the office of the Queen."
The Queen's representative
does everything from attending
citizenship ceremonies
and inspecting cadets to
opening stampedes and talking
to high school students
about government. She
shakes a lot of hands.
When Helen Hunley
reaches out her hand, she
does it in the old sense of the
gesture. Originally, a noble
stretched out his hand to
show goodwill and that he
bore no dagger. The political
veteran of 19 years has never
backed down from a fight,
but she's never carried a
hatchet either.
" We'd have some dandies,"
said Art Bott, who was a
councillor when Miss Hunley
was mayor of Rocky. " But
we'd always go for coffee afterward.
If Helen's got anything
against you, she'll tell
you to your face and that'll be
it. No way she'd ever hold a
grudge."
" My office is neutral
ground," she says, leaning
back into her chair with a cup
of coffee. " I'm apolitical now.
I've divorced myself totally
from loyalties to either party.
I'm here to represent the
Queen, who is neutral."
The conversation always
finds its way back to duty and
responsibility, just as Helen
Hunley, private citizen has.
In 1979, the lieutenant- governor
was tired of politics.
After four years in the hefty
Social Services portfolio, she
announced she was leaving
public life.
But when the call came
from Prime Minister Brian
Mulroney, asking her to represent
the Queen in Alberta,
she packed her suitcase, marshalled
her Labrador dog
Kelly and her ingrained
sense of duty, and moved to
Edmonton.
" What are you'going to say
— no, I'm too lazy?" asks the
dyed- in- the- wool monarchist.
Even in retirement, she
served as chairman of Rock-y's
town library board, chairman
of the provincial mental
health advisory council and
president of the Alberta Tory
party.
When a person considers
politics, she says, the first
question is whether she s
willing to make sacrifices:
time, personal freedom,
sometimes even income.
Next, and equally important,
is to determine purpose.
" If you want power, that s
too bad. You may make it, but
it's bad for the people."
She says responsibility was
t h e factor that most shaped
her life. Others agree.
" Helen came up the hard
way," says Lou Soppit, mayor
of Rocky. The eighth of 11
children ( named alphabetically),
little was handed to
her.
As a farm girl she was responsible
for chores and contributing
to the family income
by picking berries for.
^ tcms a pound. There was
never any question she'd get
a job to pay for her board
when she moved into Rocky
at 16 to finish high school.
Working the night shift as
a switchboard operator may
not have done much for her
concentration at school ( she
tended to fall asleep), but it
prepared her for her next big
responsibility.
In 1941, the 21- year- old
joined the Women's Army
Corps and soon became a telephone
operator instructor.
She wasn't fussy about rising
in the ranks because, she
says, shft enjoyed what she
was doing. But others had a
different idea
Narratives of social inclusion in the context of Roma school segregation
No full textDespite a series of judgements from the European Court of Human Rights and the enactment of the EU Racial Equality Directive, the educational segregation of Roma pupils persists in several European states. State action plans submitted pursuant to the European Framework for Roma Integration rarely provide clear targets and do not commit to inclusive schooling. Taking education as a principle indicator of social inclusion, this article identifies that structural inequality and entrenched discriminatory attitudes are the main obstacles to Roma inclusion. This can only be addressed through the diffusion of legal and social norms that mainstream equality. Focusing on the legal obligations, it is argued that the European Commission must be more decisive and effective in the enforcement of non-discrimination rules. A closer dialogue between the European Court of Human Rights and the EU institutions, grounded in a non-targeted social inclusion frame, could provide a platform for European consensus which may help to secure meaningful change
School self-evaluation for development: the case for and reflections on a training programme
No full textThis paper explores the case for schools conducting their own self-evaluation to serve the dual purpose of professional development within schools and accountability demands from external sources. The paper is in three parts. The first outlines the argument and benefits for schools conducting their own case study evaluation of their curriculum policies and practices, indicating how this approach is both similar to and different from external case study of schools. The second describes a training programme designed and implemented by the author to support schools in conducting evaluations that are valid, credible and useful. The third presents the participants' and author's reflections on the training and its outcomes and, through an example from one of the schools involved, illustrates what school self-evaluation looks like grounded in the actual experience of undertaking the process. From the evidence presented, the paper concludes that educational professionals, with appropriate support and training, are more than equal to the task of conducting credible and valid case study school self-evaluations
- …
