Fasting from Jeans, for a Cause

A dress is a conversation starter, and conversations are the foundation of social change. Posting about ­­­­­­­­the message behind Dressember from In All Things - an online journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation. https://inallthings.org/fasting-from-jeans-for-a-cause

Human Use of Computers Framework: Assessment Using the Computer Procrastination Problem

As more and more human living involves interacting with various computer systems, it becomes increasingly important to understand the full picture of what is involved in such computer use. Without such an understanding, we will be limited in our ability to either design systems and practices which maximize benefit and human flourishing, or to recognize, understand, and address dysfunction where it occurs. Basden’s (2008) Human Use of Computers Framework provides a structure for considering many facets of computer use. Based on the philosophy of Herman Dooyeweerd, Basden’s framework considers computer use as the simultaneous functioning of a.) humans interacting with the computer, b.) engaging with the content, and c.) living with computers in their everyday lives. Each of the three categories of functioning can be analysed in each of Dooyeweerd’s 15 aspects of reality. This framework is a promising structure for providing rich understanding, but its ability to provide useful insight had not been tested or verified. The original contribution to knowledge of this thesis is an assessment of the framework and a demonstration that it does indeed provide insight when used to analyse various computer use situations, including complex or problematic situations. It demonstrates this through an analysis of the problem of computer procrastination, which makes a suitable test case because it is complex, interdisciplinary, and understudied. In addition, the thesis extends the framework by providing an understanding of how normativity and responsibility flow between the simultaneous functionings

The Lord Does Not Turn a Blind Eye

Why does God take action? It is because he desires to bring the glory of His name to all the nations. Posting about ­­­­­­­­God\u27s promises fulfilled from In All Things - an online journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation. http://inallthings.org/the-lord-does-not-turn-a-blind-eye

Integrated signaling pathway and gene expression regulatory model to dissect dynamics of <em>Escherichia coli </em>challenged mammary epithelial cells

AbstractCells transform external stimuli, through the activation of signaling pathways, which in turn activate gene regulatory networks, in gene expression. As more omics data are generated from experiments, eliciting the integrated relationship between the external stimuli, the signaling process in the cell and the subsequent gene expression is a major challenge in systems biology. The complex system of non-linear dynamic protein interactions in signaling pathways and gene networks regulates gene expression.The complexity and non-linear aspects have resulted in the study of the signaling pathway or the gene network regulation in isolation. However, this limits the analysis of the interaction between the two components and the identification of the source of the mechanism differentiating the gene expression profiles. Here, we present a study of a model of the combined signaling pathway and gene network to highlight the importance of integrated modeling.Based on the experimental findings we developed a compartmental model and conducted several simulation experiments. The model simulates the mRNA expression of three different cytokines (RANTES, IL8 and TNFα) regulated by the transcription factor NFκB in mammary epithelial cells challenged with E. coli. The analysis of the gene network regulation identifies a lack of robustness and therefore sensitivity for the transcription factor regulation. However, analysis of the integrated signaling and gene network regulation model reveals distinctly different underlying mechanisms in the signaling pathway responsible for the variation between the three cytokine's mRNA expression levels. Our key findings reveal the importance of integrating the signaling pathway and gene expression dynamics in modeling. Modeling infers valid research questions which need to be verified experimentally and can assist in the design of future biological experiments

Smartphones and Schoolwork: Determining the Relationship Between Students’ Beliefs and Habits Regarding Phones

This action research project investigated the relationship between students’ beliefs about the effects of using phones concurrently with schoolwork and the extent to which they engage in that behavior. Forty-five students from an independent school in southwestern Ontario participated in a study to determine their beliefs about phones’ effects on their schoolwork, and their responses were compared to observational data regarding how frequently they checked their phones during class. The results of the study indicate that, on average, students believe phones have little effect on their schoolwork, in contrast to current academic literature, which suggests an overall negative effect. This study also found that there is no correlation between students’ beliefs about phones’ effects on schoolwork and how frequently those students engage with their phones at school

Heart-Orientation

When we are filled by the Spirit of God, our core orientation changes. Posting about fruit-filled living from In All Things - an online hub committed to the claim that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ has implications for the entire world. http://inallthings.org/heart-orientation

Strength

Paul’s imprisonment has inspired other Christians to remain strong as they share the gospel story. Posting about God\u27s strength through difficulties from In All Things - an online journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation. https://inallthings.org/strength

Computers and Procrastination: Why So Little Research?

As computer and internet technology becomes an ever-greater part of the fabric of our everyday lives, we find that not all of the effects are as beneficial as we might like. One frequently noticed example of this that working on a computer seems to make us more prone to procrastination. While this there is significant anecdotal evidence for this phenomenon, and it is nearly taken for granted in the popular press and productivity blogs, there has been very little research that directly addresses the intersection of computer use and procrastination. For a tool widely perceived to enhance our productivity, this is remarkable. While there is significant research in numerous areas that are closely related, only a single study by Lavoie & Pychyl (2001) has investigated the precise association between computer use and procrastination. The question “Is procrastination a worse problem when using a computer than when performing a similar task manually?” is largely untested in the research literature

Technology and Mindful Evaluation

Living well with technology cannot involve either mindless acceptance or mindless rejection, but rather requires mindful evaluation. Posting about being a mindful user of technology from In All Things - an online hub committed to the claim that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ has implications for the entire world. http://inallthings.org/technology-and-mindful-evaluation

Who Owns Your House?

The good news that God triumphs over evil, even over the sin that lives inside us, is a message for people of any and every nation. Posting about God\u27s holiness and goodness from In All Things - an online journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation. http://inallthings.org/who-owns-your-house