24,872 research outputs found
The company she keeps : The social and interpersonal construction of girls same sex friendships
This thesis begins a critical analysis of girls' 'private' interpersonal and social relations as they are enacted within two school settings. It is the study of these marginal subordinated worlds productivity of forms of femininity which provides the main narrative of this project. I seek to understand these processes of (best) friendship construction through a feminist multi-disciplinary frame, drawing upon cultural studies, psychoanalysis and accounts of gender politics. I argue that the investments girls bring to their homosocial alliances and boundary drawing narry a psychological compulsion which is complexly connected to their own experiences within the mother/daughter bond as well as reflecting positively an immense social debt to the permissions girls have to be nurturant and ; negatively their own reproduction of oppressive exclusionary practices. Best friendship in particular gives girls therefore, the experience of 'monogamy' continuous of maternal/daughter identification, reminiscent of their positioning inside monopolistic forms of heterosexuality. But these subcultures also represent a subversive discontinuity to the public dominance of boys/teachers/adults in schools and to the ideologies and practices of heterosociality and heterosexuality. By taking seriously their transmission of the values of friendship in their chosen form of notes and diaries for example, I was able to access the means whereby they were able to resist their surveillance and control by those in power over them. I conclude by arguing that it is through a recognition of the valency of these indivisiblly positive and negative aspects to girls cultures that Equal Opportunities practitioners must begin if they are serious about their ambitions. Methods have to be made which enable girls to transfer their 'private' solidarities into the 'public' realm, which unquestionably demands contesting with them the causes and consequences of their implication in the divisions which also contaminate their lives and weaken them
Strung pieces: on the aesthetics of television fiction series
As layered and long works, television fiction series have aesthetic properties that are built over time, bit by bit. This thesis develops a group of concepts that enable the study of these properties, It argues that a series is made of strung pieces, a system of related elements. The text begins by considering this sequential form within the fields of film and television. This opening chapter defines the object and methodology of research, arguing for a non-essentialist distinction between cinema and television and against the adequacy of textual and contextual analyses as approaches to the aesthetics of these shows. It proposes instead that these programmes should be described as televisual works that can be scrutinised through aesthetic analysis. The next chapters propose a sequence of interrelated concepts. The second chapter contends that series are composed of building blocks that can be either units into which series are divided or motifs that unify series and are dispersed across their pans. These blocks are patterned according to four kinds of relations or principles of composition. Repetition and variation are treated in tandem in the third chapter because of their close connection, given that variation emerges from established repetition. Exception and progression are also discussed together in the fourth chapter since they both require a long view of these serial works. The former, in order to be recognised as a deviation from the patterns of repetition and variation. The latter, In order to be understood in Its many dimensions as the series advances. Each of these concepts is further detailed with additional distinctions between types of units, motifs, repetitions, variations, and exceptions, using illustrative examples from numerous shows. In contrast, the section on progression uses a single series as case study, CarnivĂ le (2003-05), because this is the overarching principle that encompasses all the others. The conclusion considers the findings of the research and suggests avenues for their application
Studies of strategic performance management for classical organizations theory & practice
Nowadays, the activities of "Performance Management" have spread very broadly in actually every part of business and management. There are numerous practitioners and researchers from very different disciplines, who are involved in exploring the different contents of performance management. In this thesis, some relevant historic developments in performance management are first reviewed. This includes various theories and frameworks of performance management. Then several management science techniques are developed for assessing performance management, including new methods in Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and Soft System Methodology (SSM). A theoretical framework for performance management and its practical procedures (five phases) are developed for "classic" organizations using soft system thinking, and the relationship with the existing theories are explored. Eventually these results are applied in three case studies to verify our theoretical development. One of the main contributions of this work is to point out, and to systematically explore the basic idea that the effective forms and structures of performance management for an organization are likely to depend greatly on the organizational configuration, in order to coordinate well with other management activities in the organization, which has seemingly been neglected in the existing literature of performance management research in the sense that there exists little known research that associated particular forms of performance management with the explicit assumptions of organizational configuration. By applying SSM, this thesis logically derives some main functional blocks of performance management in 'classic' organizations and clarifies the relationships between performance management and other management activities. Furthermore, it develops some new tools and procedures, which can hierarchically decompose organizational strategies and produce a practical model of specific implementation steps for "classic" organizations. Our approach integrates popular types of performance management models. Last but not least, this thesis presents findings from three major cases, which are quite different organizations in terms of management styles, ownership, and operating environment, to illustrate the fliexbility of the developed theoretical framework
Reforming the United Nations
The thesis deals with the financial crisis that the United Nations faced starting in 1985 when the US Congress decided to withhold a significant part of the US contribution to the UN regular budget in order to force a greater say for the major contributors on budgetary issues, budgetary restraint and greater efficiency. The UN responded by the adoption of resolution 41/213 of 19 December 1986 that was based on the recommendations of a Group of High-level Intergovernmental Experts ("G-18") set up a year earlier. A new system was introduced regarding the formulation of the regular budget of the United Nations Organisation and a broader process of reform was initiated including a restructuring of the Secretariat and of the intergovernmental machinery in the economic and social fields. After an introductory chapter (Chapter I), the thesis examines the UN problems at the budgetary/financial and administrative/structural levels, the solutions proposed from within and without the United Nations established framework and the actual attempts at reform (Chapters II and ifi). The realisation that the implementation of reforms is rather disjointed and often unsuccessful (e.g. the failure to restructure the intergovernmental machi.neiy) prompts a search for the deeper causes of the UN problems at the political level and the attitudes of the main actors, namely the USA, the USSR, some up-and-coming states, notably Japan, the Third World states and, finally, of the UN Secretary-General and the Secretariat (Chapter 1V). Although the financial crisis may have subsided since 1988 and the USA seem committed to paying up their dues, the deeper UN crisis of identity has not been resolved and is expected to resurface if no bold steps are taken. In that direction, some possible alternative courses for the UN in the future are discussed drawing upon theory and practice (Chapte
The empty space in abstract photography: a psychoanalytical perspective
The aim of the research that this thesis is based on is to explore the theoretical problems raised by the concept of photographic abstraction. These consist in the tension between the two aspects of the photographic sign, the indexical and iconic, and are examined in the context of the particular exploration of the empty space in abstract photography which I have pursued through my practice. The investigation draws mainly upon the psychoanalytic theory of transitional phenomena as proposed by Winnicott, as well as other art theories (Deleuze & Guattari, Ehrenzweig, Fer, Fuller, Greenberg, Joselit, Kuspit, Leider, Worringer) of abstraction. It explores the relationship of the abstract photographic image to notions of exteriority and interiority as these relate to the transition from the unconscious to conscious reality. The development of this research suggests the psychoanalytical concept of potential space as a contribution to an aesthetic model of abstraction. This concept is employed as a methodological tool in the development of the practical work and creates a framework for its interpretation. The concept of potential space is based on Winnicott's ideas around "playing with the real" in an intermediate area of experience between the internal and external reality, where creativity originates as a zone of fictive play that facilitates the subject's journey from "what is subjectively conceived of' to "what is objectively perceived. " The outcome of this investigation constitutes the production of a series of photographs describing an empty abstract space, one that is invested with a psychic dimension that produces the effect of ambiguity between its representational and abstract readings. It provides a redefinition of abstraction in a space of tension between the iconic and indexical aspects of the sign and opens up the space of abstraction in photography as one in which the relationship between inner and outer reality can be performed and can become a space of action and intervention
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Topological and Chromatin Alterations Influencing Genome Integrity
DNA topoisomerases Top1 and Top2 have redundant functions in resolving topological alterations arising during replication and transcription processes. Topoisomerases assist replication forks encountering transcription units, preventing chromosome fragility by minimizing the aberrant topological events. We investigated the role of topoisomerases in supercoil accumulation across the yeast genome using biotin tagged psoralen immunoprecipitation. We found that DNA is under-wound at gene boundaries and over-wound at transcribed regions. Top1 is associated with positively supercoiled chromatin as it accompanies RNA Polymerase II (Pol2) and its chromatin association is influenced by transcription levels of the individual genes. Top2 is associated with stable negative supercoiled chromatin at the gene boundaries, and its association is not dependent on transcription. Top2 promotes transcription efficiencies by forming gene loop structure and restricts Top1 and Pol2 leakage at gene boundaries. Ablation of Top2 protein decreases the negative supercoil accumulation at gene boundaries. Expression of E.coli TopA in topoisomerases double mutant in yeast (top2-1top1Î) significantly resolves only the negative supercoil of gene boundaries and increases the accumulation of positive supercoil. The supercoil state at gene boundaries and ORFs are crucial for nucleosome occupancy. Using Hi-C techniques, we show that, centromeres are prominently interacting with other centromeres and the inter-chromosomal centromere interactions are depleted along with cohesin protein in top2-1top1Î mutant expressing E.coli TopA. This work therefore summarizes the role of supercoil structures in preserving higher order architecture including nucleosome formation and chromosome organization
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Anomalous psychedelic experiences: at the neurochemical juncture of the humanistic and parapsychological
This paper explores the nature of psychedelically-induced anomalous experiences for what they reveal regarding the nature of 'expanded consciousness' and its implications for humanistic and transpersonal psychology, parapsychology and the psychology and underlying neuroscience of such experiences. Taking a multidisciplinary approach this essay reviews the nature of ten transpersonal or parapsychological experiences that commonly occur spontaneously and in relation to the use of psychedelic substances, namely synaesthesia, extra-dimensional percepts, out-of-body experiences, near-death experiences, entity encounters, alien abduction, sleep paralysis, interspecies communication, possession, and psi (telepathy, precognition, and clairvoyance and psychokinesis)
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Mahogunin Ring Finger 1 regulates pigmentation by controlling the pH of melanosomes in melanocytes and melanoma cells.
Mahogunin Ring Finger 1 (MGRN1) is an E3-ubiquitin ligase absent in dark-furred mahoganoid mice. We investigated the mechanisms of hyperpigmentation in Mgrn1-null melan-md1 melanocytes, Mgrn1-KO cells obtained by CRISPR-Cas9-mediated knockdown of Mgrn1 in melan-a6 melanocytes, and melan-a6 cells depleted of MGRN1 by siRNA treatment. Mgrn1-deficient melanocytes showed higher melanin content associated with increased melanosome abundance and higher fraction of melanosomes in highly melanized maturation stages III-IV. Expression, post-translational processing and enzymatic activity of the rate-limiting melanogenic enzyme tyrosinase measured in cell-free extracts were comparable in control and MGRN1-depleted cells. However, tyrosinase activity measured in situ in live cells and expression of genes associated with regulation of pH increased upon MGRN1 repression. Using pH-sensitive fluorescent probes, we found that downregulation of MGRN1 expression in melanocytes and melanoma cells increased the pH of acidic organelles, including melanosomes, strongly suggesting a previously unknown role of MGRN1 in the regulation of melanosomal pH. Among the pH regulatory genes upregulated by Mgrn1 knockdown, we identified those encoding several subunits of the vacuolar adenosine triphosphatase V-ATPase (mostly Atp6v0d2) and a calcium channel of the transient receptor potential channel family, Mucolipin 3 (Mcoln3). Manipulation of expression of the Mcoln3 gene showed that overexpression of Mcoln3 played a significant role in neutralization of the pH of acidic organelles and activation of tyrosinase in MGRN1-depleted cells. Therefore, lack of MGRN1 led to cell-autonomous stimulation of pigment production in melanocytes mostly by increasing tyrosinase specific activity through neutralization of the melanosomal pH in a MCOLN3-dependent manner
Deep-sea habitat characterization using acoustic data and underwater imagery in Gazul mud volcano (Gulf of CĂĄdiz, NE Atlantic)
Gazul is the shallowest mud volcano (MV) within the Shallow Field of Fluid Expulsion (SFFE) of the northeastern Gulf of CĂĄdiz (NE Atlantic; 300â1200 m depth). The SFFE represents an important geo- and biodiversity area that was designated as a Site of Community Importance under the European Habitats Directive in 2014. In this study, geological features, habitats and associated biodiversity, as well as anthropogenic impacts, were characterized at Gazul MV from underwater imagery and multibeam bathymetry. Multivariate methods using the Bray-Curtis similarity index identified six main habitats, each of which harbored a characteristic faunal assemblage that included: (1) sandy ripple bottoms typified by the actiniarian Actinauge richardi; (2) sandy, muddy, coarse sand and bioclastic bottoms dominated by the solitary coral Flabellum chunii; (3) coarse sand and bioclastic bottoms, together with soft sediments covered by scattered methane-derived authigenic carbonates (MDACs) (mixed bottoms), characterized by the echinoid Cidaris cidaris; (4) hard bottoms comprising MDACs dominated by a wide variety of sponges and gorgonians; (5) coral-rubble bottoms typified by the presence of colonial scleractinian communities dominated by Madrepora oculata; and (6) mixed bottoms characterized by the presence of a styelid ascidian. Slope and water depth were the main factors explaining assemblagesâ distribution, which was also supported by the presence of MDACs such as slabs, crusts and chimneys on the seafloor, as well as by the geomorphologic diversity of Gazul MV. The results highlight Gazul MV as an eco-biologically important area harboring different vulnerable marine ecosystem (VME) elements with indicator taxa such as scleractinians, sponges, gorgonians and black corals. ROV images revealed abandoned or lost fishing gears and marine debris on the seafloor, indicating anthropogenic impacts in Gazul MV and adjacent areas. Indeed trawling fisheries activities have also been detected in Vessel Monitoring System datasets. A fishery restricted area is recommended in Gazul MV due to the occurrence of diverse VMEs and species included in different conservation directives and conventions.Postprin
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