Naming and Re(claiming) Feminism in Orthodoxy: Voicing the Gender and Religious Identities of Greek Orthodox Women

This dissertation is a qualitative study of the effects of Greek Orthodoxy on the gender and religious identity meaning-making of five Greek-American women. The emergent themes from this study indicate that participants’ gender and religious identities were heavily influenced by the dueling tensions and contradictions between patriarchy and feminism, conservative traditionalism and modernity, and secular life and the religious community (i.e., family and church). Underpinning this study are Narrative Identity Theory and Feminist Standpoint Theory. Portraiture methodology was employed across three semi-structured interviews, as well as three written/video reflection journals to reveal how women, as articulated through their own perspectives, made meaning of their lived experiences at the intersection of their gendered and religious identity constructions. The results of this study suggest that these participants (un)consciously navigate the impact of patriarchal ideology, power, privilege, and oppression by finding goodness in small acts and feelings of connectedness as a basis for the development of their personal agency, voice, and womanhood. Implications for research, Orthodoxy, and practice are discussed

Sustainable feedback and academic attainment: exploring the links in the modern higher education student

The expectation of current higher education students is that they are an independent, self-regulated learner who work in partnership with their institution to engender lifelong learning skills that can be applied in both education and employment.  Such learners are able to monitor, direct and optimise their own learning by effectively evaluating their progress towards achieving their learning goals, proceeding with confidence, determination and resilience towards their desired outcomes.  The central thesis advanced here is that a dialogic, sustainable feedback cycle may be the most valuable mechanism through which to develop such learners.  We propose that through dialogue around feedback and effective engagement with the feedback provided, students may develop agency in their studies and improve their mental toughness and academic self-efficacy, enabling them to both set, and evaluate progress towards self-determined learning goals and thus enter into a beneficial learning partnership with agents of their institution

Working memory in children with reading disabilities

This study investigated associations between working memory (measured by complex memory tasks) and both reading and mathematics abilities, as well as the possible mediating factors of Xuid intelligence, verbal abilities, short-term memory (STM), and phonological awareness, in a sample of 46 6- to 11-year-olds with reading disabilities. As a whole, the sample was characterized by deWcits in complex memory and visuospatial STM and by low IQ scores; language, phonological STM, and phonological awareness abilities fell in the low average range. Severity of reading diYculties within the sample was signiWcantly associated with complex memory, language, and phonological awareness abilities, whereas poor mathematics abilities were linked with complex memory, phonological STM, and phonological awareness scores. These Wndings suggest that working memory skills indexed by complex memory tasks represent an important constraint on the acquisition of skill and knowledge in reading and mathematics. Possible mechanisms for the contribution of working memory to learning, and the implications for educational practice, are considered

Working memory abilities in children with special educational needs

This study investigates the distinctive working memory profiles of children with learning difficulties. A sample of 64 children aged 7 to 11 years with recognised special educational needs at varying stages participated in this study. They were tested on measures of the central executive, phonological loop and visuospatial skills. The children in all three special needs subgroups performed below the expected attainment levels for their age in central executive and visuo-spatial tasks, but not in measures of the phonological loop. Very low levels of working memory performance were many times more common in the special needs sample than in a large sample of children without special educational needs. Deficits in working memory performance were more marked in children with statements of special needs than those at earlier stages of recognition of the need for educational support, particularly in measures of the central executive. These children struggle to meet the demands of complex tasks that require them to process, maintain, and store information simultaneously. It is suggested that this difficulty may underpin their failures to make normal educational progress

A structural analysis of working memory and related cognitive skills in early childhood

The aim of this study was to investigate the functional organisation of working memory and related cognitive abilities in young children. A sample of 633 children aged between 4 and 6 years were tested on measures of verbal short-term memory, complex memory span, sentence repetition, phonological awareness, and nonverbal ability. The measurement model that provided the best fit of the data incorporates constructs that correspond to the central executive, phonological loop, and episodic buffer subcomponents of working memory, plus distinct but associated constructs associated with phonological awareness and nonverbal ability

Taking data seriously: the value of actor-network theory in rethinking patient experience data

Hospitals are awash with patient experience data, much of it collected with the ostensible purpose of improving the quality of patient care. However, there has been comparatively little consideration of the nature and capacities of data itself. Using insights from actor-network theory, we propose that paying attention to patient experience data as having agency in particular hospital interactions allows us to better trace how and in what circumstances data lead (or fail to lead) to quality improvement

Shallow or deep? The impact of orthographic depth on visual processing impairments in developmental dyslexia

The extent to which impaired visual and phonological mechanisms may contribute to the manifestation of developmental dyslexia across orthographies of varying depth has yet to be fully established. By adopting a cross-linguistic approach, the current study aimed to explore the nature of visual and phonological processing in developmental dyslexic readers of shallow (Italian) and deep (English) orthographies, and specifically the characterisation of visual processing deficits in relation to orthographic depth. To achieve this aim, we administered a battery of non-reading visual and phonological tasks. Developmental dyslexics performed worse than typically developing readers on all visual and phonological tasks. Critically, readers of the shallow orthography were disproportionately impaired on visual processing tasks. Our results suggest that the impaired reading and associated deficits observed in developmental dyslexia are anchored by dual impairments to visual and phonological mechanisms that underpin reading, with the magnitude of the visual deficit varying according to orthographic depth

Comprehensive Analysis of CRP, CFH Y402H and Environmental Risk Factors on Risk of Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Purpose: To examine if the gene encoding C-reactive protein (CRP), a biomarker of inflammation, confers risk for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in the presence of other modifiers of inflammation, including body mass index (BMI), diabetes, smoking, and complement factor H (CFH) Y402 genotype. Additionally we examined the degree to which CRP common variation was in linkage disequilibrium (LD) within our cohort. Methods: We ascertained 244 individuals from 104 families where at least one member had neovascular AMD, and a sibling had normal maculae and was past the age of the index patient’s diagnosis of neovascular AMD. We employed a direct sequencing approach to analyze the 5′-promoter region as well as the entire coding region and the 3′-untranslated region of the CRP gene. CFH Y402 genotype data was available for all participants. Lifestyle and medical factors were obtained via administration of a standardized questionnaire. The family-based association test, haplotype analysis, McNemar’s test, and conditional logistic regression were used to determine significant associations and interactions. Haploview was used to calculate the degree of LD (r2) between all CRP variants identified. Results: Six single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs; rs3091244, rs1417938, rs1800947, rs1130864, rs1205, and rs3093068) comprised one haplotype block of which only rs1130864 and rs1417938 were in high LD (r2=0.94). SNP rs3093068 was in LD but less so with rs3093059 (r2=0.83), which is not part of the haplotype block. Six SNPs made up six different haplotypes with ≥ 5% frequency, none of which were significantly associated with AMD risk. No statistically significant association was detected between any of the nine common variants in CRP and neovascular AMD when considering disease status alone or when controlling for smoking exposure, BMI, diabetes, or CFH genotype. Significant interactions were not found between CRP genotypes and any of the risk factors studied. No novel CRP variation was identified. Conclusions: We provide evidence that if elevated serum/plasma levels of CRP are associated with neovascular AMD, it is likely not due to genetic variation within CRP, but likely due to variations in some other genetic as well as epidemiological factors

The genomic repertoire for cell cycle control and DNA metabolism in S. purpuratus

A search of the Strongylocentrotus purpuratus genome for genes associated with cell cycle control and DNA metabolism shows that the known repertoire of these genes is conserved in the sea urchin, although with fewer family members represented than in vertebrates, and with some cases of echinoderm-specific gene diversifications. For example, while homologues of the known cyclins are mostly encoded by single genes in S. purpuratus (unlike vertebrates, which have multiple isoforms), there are additional genes encoding novel cyclins of the B and K/L types. Almost all known cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) or CDK-like proteins have an orthologue in S. purpuratus; CDK3 is one exception, whereas CDK4 and 6 are represented by a single homologue, referred to as CDK4. While the complexity of the two families of mitotic kinases, Polo and Aurora, is close to that found in the nematode, the diversity of the NIMA-related kinases (NEK proteins) approaches that of vertebrates. Among the nine NEK proteins found in S. purpuratus, eight could be assigned orthologues in vertebrates, whereas the ninth is unique to sea urchins. Most known DNA replication, DNA repair and mitotic checkpoint genes are also present, as are homologues of the pRB (two) and p53 (one) tumor suppressors. Interestingly, the p21/p27 family of CDK inhibitors is represented by one homologue, whereas the INK4 and ARF families of tumor suppressors appear to be absent, suggesting that these evolved only in vertebrates. Our results suggest that, while the cell cycle control mechanisms known from other animals are generally conserved in sea urchin, parts of the machinery have diversified within the echinoderm lineage. The set of genes uncovered in this analysis of the S. purpuratus genome should enhance future research on cell cycle control and developmental regulation in this model

Characterisation of two snake toxin-targeting human monoclonal immunoglobulin G antibodies expressed in tobacco plants

Current snakebite antivenoms are based on polyclonal animal-derived antibodies, which can neutralize snake venom toxins in envenomed victims, but which are also associated with adverse reactions. Therefore, several efforts within antivenom research aim to explore the utility of recombinant monoclonal antibodies, such as human immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies, which are routinely used in the clinic for other indications. In this study, the feasibility of using tobacco plants as bioreactors for expressing full-length human monoclonal IgG antibodies against snake toxins was investigated. We show that the plant-produced antibodies perform similarly to their mammalian cell-expressed equivalents in terms of in vitro binding. Complete neutralization was achieved by both the plant and mammalian cell-produced anti-α-cobratoxin antibody. The feasibility of using plant-based expression systems may potentially make it easier for laboratories in resource-poor settings to work with human monoclonal IgG antibodies