21 research outputs found
Attitudes Toward Women as Administrators in the Des Moines, Iowa Public Schools
No full text113 leaves. Advisor: Dr. Richard LampshireThe problem. In a profession dominated in numbers by women, few women find their way to the top. There are relatively few women in positions of leadership or administration in education. The purpose of this study was to determine the attitudes of the school related community toward women as administrators in the Des Moines, Iowa public schools.
Procedure. Five segments of the Des Moines community were the population for this study. Sample groups were taken from: (1) students in fourth, eighth, and eleventh grades;
(2) parents of children in these grades; (3) teaching faculty from the schools attended by these students; (4) present administrators in these buildings; (5) personnel from the College of Education, Drake University. Sample groups were given an opinionnaire prepared by the author and consisting of twelve statements which describe tasks, roles or characteristics of administrators. Results were tabulated and the data analyzed. Textual summaries and tables appear in numerical and percentage form for ease of interpretation.
Findings. The study shows that men and women are considered equally able at public relations, at having ambition and a career commitment, at having insight into the needs of people. Women are perceived as working as well under women as under men, as being able to satisfy the community in assuming principalship of a school. Men and women are viewed as being equally able to make decisions and to organize effectively. Males are believed to be better disciplinarians by parents, students and older teachers, not, however, by the majority of the teaching faculty nor by administrators. Women are considered to be more sensitive, taking things more personally than men. Most segments of the study believed that young girls need successful women as models to emulate, and most segments also do not perceive the Des Moines schools as having a particular problem of sex bias or discrimination.
Conclusion. The findings of this study, when viewed as a whole, do not show any consistent negative attitudes toward women as administrators in the Des Moines, Iowa public Schools. On most of the questions asked, men and women were regarded by the subjects as equally able to perform tasks of leedership
AACR2 and catalogue production technology: The relevance of cataloguing principles to the online environment
No full textMore than thirty five years have passed since the Paris Conference and cataloguers have witnessed profound changes in many aspects of catalogue production technology and also in bibliographic control and access during this period of time. In comparison to the past, cataloguers are less involved in the design and production of catalogues and bibliographic databases particularly in terms of the interfaces, the types of indexes and the ways in which records and retrieval results are displayed. These changes and developments (see Appendix one) have presented cataloguers with some basic questions about the fundamental principles of record creation and catalogue construction.
Although present online catalogues are benefiting from more advanced hardware and software, there are still considerable, serious problems in searching, retrieval, and display of bibliographic information in present systems, which influence their functions and usefulness. This, as has been highlighted in the literature, may be because some of the present cataloguing principles and rules are inadequate, less relevant or irrelevant to the new electronic environment. A review of the literature of the last two decades indicates that, parallel to the increasing developments in online catalogues, the cataloguing community has been addressing the need for a re-thinking of cataloguing principles and rules in light of the new environment. It is often claimed that AACR2’s rules are based on concepts and principles from the pre-machine period and that they do not serve us well in giving guidance in the construction of electronic catalogues.
Given the influence of all the changes and developments in the world of catalogues and cataloguing, a fundamental re-examination of our cataloguing principles seems very necessary. In this paper some of the basic principles of AACR2 which have been highlighted in the literature as those most likely to be influenced by the new technology will be re-examined in the light of both the present and the potential characteristics and capabilities of the online environment. The aim is to examine the extent to which AACR2 matches or fails to match the capabilities of present systems and those of the near future, for searching, retrieval and display of bibliographic information. In other words, to address how catalogue form and production affects, or is in turn influenced by, the principles upon which AACR2 is based.
The approach used in this paper is to match individual capabilities of online catalogues with the basic principles of AACR2R. A major focus will be the basic concepts of the code’s principles, the logic of their application and the relationship of these principles to the logic of the online catalogue, as well as an examination of the types of principles and rules that are likely to change when moving from a manual catalogue to an online catalogue. In this regard, the needs and expectations of the different catalogue users are also taken into consideration
Hundreds of variants clustered in genomic loci and biological pathways affect human height
No full textMost common human traits and diseases have a polygenic pattern of inheritance: DNA sequence variants at many genetic loci influence the phenotype. Genome-wide association (GWA) studies have identified more than 600 variants associated with human traits(1), but these typically explain small fractions of phenotypic variation, raising questions about the use of further studies. Here, using 183,727 individuals, we show that hundreds of genetic variants, in at least 180 loci, influence adult height, a highly heritable and classic polygenic trait(2,3). The large number of loci reveals patterns with important implications for genetic studies of common human diseases and traits. First, the 180 loci are not random, but instead are enriched for genes that are connected in biological pathways (P = 0.016) and that underlie skeletal growth defects (P<0.001). Second, the likely causal gene is often located near the most strongly associated variant: in 13 of 21 loci containing a known skeletal growth gene, that gene was closest to the associated variant. Third, at least 19 loci have multiple independently associated variants, suggesting that allelic heterogeneity is a frequent feature of polygenic traits, that comprehensive explorations of already-discovered loci should discover additional variants and that an appreciable fraction of associated loci may have been identified. Fourth, associated variants are enriched for likely functional effects on genes, being over-represented among variants that alter amino-acid structure of proteins and expression levels of nearby genes. Our data explain approximately 10% of the phenotypic variation in height, and we estimate that unidentified common variants of similar effect sizes would increase this figure to approximately 16% of phenotypic variation (approximately 20% of heritable variation). Although additional approaches are needed to dissect the genetic architecture of polygenic human traits fully, our findings indicate that GWA studies can identify large numbers of loci that implicate biologically relevant genes and pathways
Consumptive death in Victorian literature: 1830 - 1880.
No full textPhDVictorian medical men, writers, relatives of the dying and consumptive sufferers
themselves seized on the narrative potential of representations of the disease in a
variety of ways.
I argue that both medical and lay writers subscribed to a common set of beliefs
about the disease and that medical knowledge, moreover, shared a common
narrative way of knowing and understanding it. I analyse aspects of general
clinical expository texts, including accompanying illustrations, showing how a
narrative knowledge of death and the tubercular body was elaborated.
Furthermore, I show how documents used in the compilation of medical statistics
on the cause of death were fundamentally narrative through their reliance on case
narratives.
It is demonstrated that Dickens uses a seldom noticed consumptive death and
decline to offset his heroine's development in Bleak House, in ways similar to
those developed in Jane Eyre. Similarly, it is shown that Mrs Gaskell's use of a
consumptive alcoholic 'fallen woman' unsettles her account of her heroine in Mary
Barton. George Eliot's 'Janet's Repentance' is analysed, showing how the
psychological struggle between an orientation towards life or death is played out
across both alcoholism and consumption. I also examine how consumption
presents a narrative opportunity whereby plots involving setbacks in love are
resolved through women's consumptive deaths in popular fiction by Rhoda
Broughton,Ladv Georgiana Fullerton and others. Through an examination of the Journal of Emily Shore and accounts of other actual
deaths, I illustrate how experiences and accounts of consumptive deaths were
structured and rendered intelligible through reliance on beliefs encountered in both
fiction and medicine. In conclusion, the thesis alerts readers to the presence of
signifiers of consumption in Victorian texts, showing how various narrative
strategies are integral to any understanding of representations of its dying victim
Genome-wide meta-analysis identifies 11 new loci for anthropometric traits and provides insights into genetic architecture
No full textApproaches exploiting trait distribution extremes may be used to identify loci associated with common traits, but it is unknown whether these loci are generalizable to the broader population. In a genome-wide search for loci associated with the upper versus the lower 5th percentiles of body mass index, height and waist-to-hip ratio, as well as clinical classes of obesity, including up to 263,407 individuals of European ancestry, we identified 4 new loci (IGFBP4, H6PD, RSRC1 and PPP2R2A) influencing height detected in the distribution tails and 7 new loci (HNF4G, RPTOR, GNAT2, MRPS33P4, ADCY9, HS6ST3 and ZZZ3) for clinical classes of obesity. Further, we find a large overlap in genetic structure and the distribution of variants between traits based on extremes and the general population and little etiological heterogeneity between obesity subgroups
Meta-analysis identifies 13 new loci associated with waist-hip ratio and reveals sexual dimorphism in the genetic basis of fat distribution
No full textWaist-hip ratio (WHR) is a measure of body fat distribution and a predictor of metabolic consequences independent of overall adiposity. WHR is heritable, but few genetic variants influencing this trait have been identified. We conducted a meta-analysis of 32 genome-wide association studies for WHR adjusted for body mass index (comprising up to 77,167 participants), following up 16 loci in an additional 29 studies (comprising up to 113,636 subjects). We identified 13 new loci in or near RSPO3, VEGFA, TBX15-WARS2, NFE2L3, GRB14, DNM3-PIGC, ITPR2-SSPN, LY86, HOXC13, ADAMTS9, ZNRF3-KREMEN1, NISCH-STAB1 and CPEB4 (P = 1.9 × 10⁻⁹ to P = 1.8 × 10⁻⁴⁰) and the known signal at LYPLAL1. Seven of these loci exhibited marked sexual dimorphism, all with a stronger effect on WHR in women than men (P for sex difference = 1.9 × 10⁻³ to P = 1.2 × 10⁻¹³). These findings provide evidence for multiple loci that modulate body fat distribution independent of overall adiposity and reveal strong gene-by-sex interactions
Novel Approach Identifies SNPs in SLC2A10 and KCNK9 with Evidence for Parent-of-Origin Effect on Body Mass Index
No full textThe phenotypic effect of some single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) depends on their parental origin. We present a novel approach to detect parent-of-origin effects (POEs) in genome-wide genotype data of unrelated individuals. The method exploits increased phenotypic variance in the heterozygous genotype group relative to the homozygous groups. We applied the method to >56,000 unrelated individuals to search for POEs influencing body mass index (BMI). Six lead SNPs were carried forward for replication in five family-based studies (of ~4,000 trios). Two SNPs replicated: the paternal rs2471083-C allele (located near the imprinted KCNK9 gene) and the paternal rs3091869-T allele (located near the SLC2A10 gene) increased BMI equally (beta = 0.11 (SD), P<0.0027) compared to the respective maternal alleles. Real-time PCR experiments of lymphoblastoid cell lines from the CEPH families showed that expression of both genes was dependent on parental origin of the SNPs alleles (P<0.01). Our scheme opens new opportunities to exploit GWAS data of unrelated individuals to identify POEs and demonstrates that they play an important role in adult obesity. © 2014 Hoggart et al
Meta-analyses identify 13 loci associated with age at menopause and highlight DNA repair and immune pathways
No full textTo newly identify loci for age at natural menopause, we carried out a meta-analysis of 22 genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in 38,968 women of European descent, with replication in up to 14,435 women. In addition to four known loci, we identified 13 loci newly associated with age at natural menopause (at P < 5 × 10(-8)). Candidate genes located at these newly associated loci include genes implicated in DNA repair (EXO1, HELQ, UIMC1, FAM175A, FANCI, TLK1, POLG and PRIM1) and immune function (IL11, NLRP11 and PRRC2A (also known as BAT2)). Gene-set enrichment pathway analyses using the full GWAS data set identified exoDNase, NF-κB signaling and mitochondrial dysfunction as biological processes related to timing of menopause
Resilient places? The healthcare gardens and the Maggie's Centres
No full textThis thesis takes as its focus the Maggie’s Cancer Centres exploring for the first time the impact of their designed gardens. This research is situated within the immediate context of Maggie’s ambitions as an organisation and looks closely at their design process. It is also set within the wider debates about the effects of green space on health and the historical context of the restorative garden. By exploring both historical and contemporary examples, it argues that a healthcare garden may be a space for transformation.
Using four different Maggie’s gardens as case studies, the research seeks to investigate the role of these outdoor spaces and their impact on users. Through ethnographic and sensory methods, each garden is considered and mapped. It looks at the design brief and the intentions of the designers’, but the core work is an exploration of the experiences of staff and visitors. The focus is on the everyday use of these gardens as well as the design historiography. The experiences of gardens within healthcare are examined in order to expose the ways in which gardens, people, health and care are entwined.
Through the qualitative research process this thesis develops a new hypothesis as to how healthcare gardens may operate – offering a new definition for them as “resilient places”. Careful analysis of the data reveals the specific networks and affordances presented by these gardens. The thesis argues, based on the evidence of users, that healthcare gardens can uniquely embrace certain “essences” where essence is defined as conveying a quality or attribute. These garden essences are identified as thresholds, sensory richness, the density of time and homeliness. The thesis also argues that a healthcare garden can provide specific and unique opportunities for care and this, in turn, can enhance the healing ethos of an organisation such as Maggie’s
Association analyses of 249,796 individuals reveal 18 new loci associated with body mass index
No full textObesity is globally prevalent and highly heritable, but its underlying genetic factors remain largely elusive. To identify genetic loci for obesity susceptibility, we examined associations between body mass index and similar to 2.8 million SNPs in up to 123,865 individuals with targeted follow up of 42 SNPs in up to 125,931 additional individuals. We confirmed 14 known obesity susceptibility loci and identified 18 new loci associated with body mass index (P < 5 x 10(-8)), one of which includes a copy number variant near GPRC5B. Some loci (at MC4R, POMC, SH2B1 and BDNF) map near key hypothalamic regulators of energy balance, and one of these loci is near GIPR, an incretin receptor. Furthermore, genes in other newly associated loci may provide new insights into human body weight regulation
