A regional perspective on the "Great Moderation"

The Great Moderation impacted job growth across nearly all regions over a fairly short period of time.Recessions ; Economic conditions - United States ; Economic conditions - Texas

The 'Great Moderation' in output and employment volatility: an update

The reduced aggregate volatility that began in 1984 has continued into the new millennium.

3’ UTR Structural Elements in CYP24A1 are Associated with Infantile Hypercalcaemia Type 1

Ribonucleic acids (RNAs) fold into complex structures that are critical for their function and regulation including post-transcriptional modification, localisation, translation and degradation. RNA structure and potential RNA misfolding has scarcely been studied in a clinical setting. Hypomorphic mutations in the cytochrome P450 family 24 subfamily A member 1 (CYP24A1) protein coding region causing inappropriately elevated active vitamin D metabolites have been observed in some cases of idiopathic infantile hypercalcemia and adult-onset nephrolithiasis. It is unclear why a subset of cases present with superficial CYP24A1 mediated hypercalcemia (CMH) but do not exhibit protein-coding mutations in CYP24A1. This thesis presents a combination of biochemical profiling, next generation sequencing, bioinformatics, proteomic and molecular cytogenetic approaches to examine CYP24A1 in a patient cohort with apparent CMH. This work identified several novel single nucleotide variants (SNVs) located in the CYP24A1 3’ untranslated region (UTR). These SNVs led to CYP24A1 messenger RNA (mRNA) misfolding. The mRNA structural abnormalities observed were associated with an over accumulation of an apparently less active CYP24A1 protein. The generation of a CMH cell line, using CRISPR, mimicking patients with CYP24A1 3’ UTR variants causing mRNA structural alterations provided a model system for in vitro investigations into so-called noncanonical CMH. Subsequent single molecule fluorescence in situ hybridisation (smFISH) methods provided CYP24A1 cellular localisation in addition to mRNA abundance in vitro and ex vivo. The important advancements presented in this thesis are valuable to understanding mRNA structure-function relationships and novel CYP24A1 mutations, which affect mRNA translation and protein expression. The findings of this research provide a framework that can be used to better understand the molecular basis of pathogenesis in patients lacking protein coding region abnormalities

Investigation of the linguistic construction of Identity in Individuals with Traumatic Brain Injury

This study looks at the linguistic expression of identity or sense of self in individuals with a traumatic brain injury or blast injury sustained on military deployment.  Data is obtained from everyday conversations the participants undergo with their usual communication partners.  Methods described by systemic functional linguistics are used in order to analyse this conversational data and the focus of analysis is on the ideational meanings created and interpersonal metafunction in describing how the exchange of information results in the construction of an individual’s identity or sense of self

Pacific Labour Mobility: Removing the Gender Blinkers

To date, women’s participation in the SWP and New Zealand’s Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme has been low (Bailey 2014; Chattier 2015). Increasing women’s participation in these schemes is crucial if development gains are to be maximised. In this, the second in a series of In Briefs that consider women’s participation in the SWP, we examine what might be done to address the existing gender imbalances.AusAI

What Does it Take to Develop Assessments of Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching?: Unpacking the Mathematical Work of Teaching

In the context of the increased mathematical demands of the Common Core State Standards and data showing that many elementary school teachers lack strong mathematical knowledge for teaching, there is an urgent need to grow teachers’ MKT. With this goal in mind, it is crucial to have research and assessment tools that are able to measure and track aspects of teachers’ MKT at scale. Building on the concept of “mathematical tasks of teaching” (Ball et al., 2008), we report on a new framework that unpacks the mathematical work of teaching that could serve as a scaffold for item writers who are developing assessments of MKT. We argue that this framework supports a focus on the mathematical work of teaching that moves beyond common content knowledge but without moving into a space of pedagogical choice. We also illustrate how the framework was constructed to highlight connections within and across the mathematical content of elementary school. The mathematical work of teaching framework has implications for assessment development at scale, and could be useful as an organizing tool in mathematics teacher education efforts to grow teachers’ MKT

The Security Sector, the Budget and Development

SUMMARY While security expenditure — including both military spending and expenditures on paramilitary forces — is not the sole cause of underdevelopment, most Third World countries would benefit by spending less on their security sectors. This article first examines some of the problems surrounding the collection of reliable security expenditure data. It then argues that the preponderance of salaries and other operating costs in Third World security budgets complicates efforts to obtain reductions in security spending and to translate such reductions into development. SOMMAIRE Le secteur de la sécurité, le budget et le développement Alors que la dépense relative à la sécurité — les dépenses militaires et le dépenses sur les forces paramilitaires — n'est pas la seule cause de sous?développement, la plupart des pays du Tiers Monde bénéficieraient d'une réduction des dépenses dans le secteur de la sécurité. Cet article examine tout d'abord quelques problèmes entourant la collection d'information de dépenses de sécurité de source sure. II prouve ensuite que la prépondérance des salaires et d'autres coûts d'opération dans les budgets de sécurité du Tiers Monde complique les efforts pour obtenir des réductions dans les dépenses et de transférer ces réductions dans le développement. RESUMEN El sector seguridad, presupuesto y desarrollo La mayoría de los países del Tercer Mundo se beneficiarían si gastaran menos en sus sectores de seguridad, aún cuando este gasto, incluyendo tanto el gasto militar como en fuerzas paramilitares, no sea la única causa del subdesarrollo. El artículo examina algunos de los problemas que existen en la colección de datos fidedignos sobre gastos de seguridad. Argumenta que la preponderancia de salarios y otros gastos operativos en los presupuestos de seguridad de los países del Tercer Mundo complica los esfuerzos desplegados para rebajar dichos gastos y para transferir tales fondos a proyectos de desarrollo