Developing a Racial Consciousness in the White Leader

This thesis addresses how racism affects the leadership practice of the white leader in the United States. The researcher did a self-analysis of her own spiritual and psychological development, as a white leader, from birth to age 35. The researcher used her own narrative as the primary source of data. Secondary resources were used to interpret this data. The researcher argues that the United States is a nation in which social life is still largely governed by the belief in the intellectual, cultural and moral superiority of whites, or the doctrine of white supremacy. The researcher argues further that the white leader is prepared, through the processes of socialization, cultural dominance and isolation, to practice racism, unconsciously, in social life. The researcher suggests that a remedy for this situation is the development of a racial consciousness, wherein the white leader actively goes about the task of learning how she was socialized into the practice of racism. The development of a racial consciousness is an aspect of the process of Individuation. The researcher moves her own narrative through Joseph Campbell\u27s and Carol Pearson\u27s model of Individuation, The Hero\u27s Adventure. The narrative is organized chronologically through the preparation, departure, fulfillment and return phases of the archetypal pattern of the Hero\u27s Adventure. The narrative and the interpretation of the data reveal that in the case of this white leader, the development of a racial consciousness resulted in a greater level of awareness in four areas: an awareness of one\u27s socialization into racism, an awareness of the power differential between whites and people of color, a recognition of cultural difference, and finally, an understanding of how power and culture converge to reinforce and reproduce racism. Developing a racial consciousness also resulted in a capacity to recognize and acknowledge racist leadership choices. The researcher asserts that when the white leader recognizes and acknowledges racist leadership choices she is resisting racism

Strain hardening fiber reinforced cement composites for the flexural strengthening of masonry elements of ancient structures

To assess the strengthening ability of a strain hardening cementitious composite (SHCC), a layer of SHCC was applied to masonry beams subjected to bending. When compared to the strengthening performance of steel fibre reinforced self-compacting concrete (SFRSCC) layer for this type of brittle beams, the SHCC presented better workability in fresh state, and provided a higher load carrying capacity and deflection ductility even with a smaller layer thickness. By using the data derived from the experimental tests with the constituent materials of the strengthened masonry beams, the behaviour of the tested strengthened masonry beams was numerically simulated with good accuracy.The study presented in this paper is a part of the research Project titled "PrePam - Pre-fabricated thin panels using advanced materials for structural rehabilitation" with reference number of PTDC/ECM/114511/2009 supported by FCT. It is also conducted as part of the MSC-SAHC Master's program supported by the European Commission. The authors also thank the collaboration of the following companies: Sika for providing the sand, Grace for the superplasticizers, Dow for the viscosity modification agents, ENDE-SA Compostilla power station for the fly ash, and SECIL for supplying the cement. The first author acknowledge the PhD grant SFRH/BD/65663/2009 provided by FCT

Designing and evaluating complex interventions to improve health care

Complex interventions are “built up from a number of components, which may act both independently and interdependently.”1 2 Many health service activities should be considered as complex. Evaluating complex interventions can pose a considerable challenge and requires a substantial investment of time. Unless the trials illuminate processes and mechanisms they often fail to provide useful information. If the result is negative, we are left wondering whether the intervention is inherently ineffective (either because the intervention was inadequately developed or because all similar interventions are ineffective), whether it was inadequately applied or applied in an inappropriate context, or whether the trial used an inappropriate design, comparison groups or outcomes. If there is a positive effect, it can be hard to judge how the results of the trial might be applied to a different context (box 1)

Flexural strengthening of masonry members using advanced cementitious materials

Two different cement based fiber reinforced composites for the flexural strengthening of masonry beams under monotonic loading are studied. Steel Fiber Reinforced Self- Compacting Concrete (SFRSCC) with tensile strain-softening behavior, and PVA fiber reinforced cement based mortar (SHCC) with tensile Strain-Hardening were the developed composites. Both composites were applied on the tensile surface of masonry beams and the effectiveness of this technique for the flexural strengthening of these quasi-brittle structural elements was assessed by performing four point beam bending tests. Both materials contributed effectively to increase the load carrying capacity and ultimate deflection ductility of the tested masonry beams, but, higher average values were obtained for these two indicators of the strengthening effectiveness when using a layer thickness of SHCC that is 2/3 of the thickness of SFRSCC. Furthermore, much more homogenous results, in terms of forcedeflection relationship, were obtained with masonry beams strengthened with SHCC than with SFRSCC

Pregnant women\u27s knowledge of weight, weight gain, complications of obesity and weight management strategies in pregnancy

BACKGROUND: Obesity is increasingly common in the obstetric population. Maternal obesity and excess gestational weight gain (GWG) are associated with increased perinatal risk. There is limited published data demonstrating the level of pregnant women's knowledge regarding these problems, their consequences and management strategies.We aimed to assess the level of knowledge of pregnant women regarding: (i) their own weight and body mass index (BMI) category, (ii) awareness of guidelines for GWG, (iii) concordance of women's own expectations with guidelines, (iv) knowledge of complications associated with excess GWG, and (v) knowledge of safe weight management strategies in pregnancy. METHODS: 364 pregnant women from a single center university hospital antenatal clinic were interviewed by an obstetric registrar. The women in this convenience sample were asked to identify their weight category, their understanding of the complications of obesity and excessive GWG in pregnancy and safe and/or effective weight management strategies in pregnancy. RESULTS: Nearly half (47.8%) of the study population were overweight or obese. 74% of obese women underestimated their BMI category. 64% of obese women and 40% of overweight women overestimated their recommended GWG. Women's knowledge of the specific risks associated with excess GWG or maternal obesity was poor. Women also reported many incorrect beliefs about safe weight management in pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS: Many pregnant women have poor knowledge about obesity, GWG, their consequences and management strategies. Bridging this knowledge gap is an important step towards improving perinatal outcomes for all pregnant women, especially those who enter pregnancy overweight or obese

DO GYMNASTS EXPERIENCE SYMMETRICAL LIMB LOADING WHEN PERFORMING FOUNDATION GYMNASTICS SKILLS?

Uneven asymmetrical landings in artistic gymnastics is considered a risk factor for injury. The aim of this research was to investigate if gymnasts experience asymmetrical upper and lower limb loading when performing foundation gymnastics skills on floor. Sixteen competitive level gymnasts (male= 8, female= 8) performed seven different gymnastics skills while wearing four inertial measurement units located bilaterally on the distal forearm and tibias. Every gymnastics skill showed significant inter-limb asymmetry (range z= -5.8, -6.0,

Bone and Cartilage Degeneration in Mice Following Long-Duration Spaceflight: The Role of Bone Marrow Stem Cells

The detrimental effects of mechanical unloading in microgravity, including the musculo-skeletal system, are well documented. However, the effects of mechanical unloading on joint health and the interaction between bone and cartilage specifically, are less well known. Our ongoing studies with the mouse bone model have identified the failure of normal stem cell-based tissue regeneration, in addition to tissue degeneration, as a significant concern for long-duration spaceflight, especially in the mesenchymal and hematopoietic tissue lineages. Furthermore, we have identified the cell cycle arrest molecule, CDKN1ap21, as specifically up-regulated during spaceflight exposure and localized to osteoprecursors on the bone surface and chondroprogenitors in articular cartilage that are both required for normal tissue regeneration. The 30-day BionM1 and 37-day Rodent Research 1 (RR1) missions enabled the possibility of studying these effects in long-duration microgravity experiments. We hypothesized that the inhibition of stem cell-based tissue regeneration in short-duration spaceflight would continue during long-duration spaceflight resulting in significant tissue alterations and we specifically studied the hip joint (pelvis and proximal femur) to elucidate these effects. To test this hypothesis we analyzed bone and bone marrow stem cells using techniques including high-resolution Microcomputed Tomography (MicroCT), in-vivo differentiation and migration assays, and whole transcriptome expression profiling. We found that exposure to spaceflight for 30 days results in a significant decrease in bone volume fraction (-31), trabecular thickness (-14) and trabecular number (-20). Similar decrements in bone volume fraction (-27), trabecular number (-13) and trabecular thickness (-17) were found in female mice exposed to 37 days spaceflight. Furthermore, high-resolution MicroCT and immunohistochemical analysis of spaceflight tissues revealed a severe disruption of the epiphyseal boundary, resulting in endochondral ossification of the femoral head and perforation of articular cartilage by bone. This suggests that spaceflight in microgravity may cause rapid induction of an aging-like phenotype with signs of osteoarthritic disease in the hip joint. Microarray analysis also revealed that the top pathways altered during spaceflight include activation of matrix metalloproteinases, oxidative stress signaling and inflammation in both whole bone tissue and isolated bone marrow stem cells. In conclusion, the observed inhibition of stem cell-based tissue regeneration persists during long-duration spaceflight. Furthermore, spaceflight mice exhibit disruption of the epiphyseal boundary and endochondral ossification of the femoral head, and an inhibition of stem cell based tissue regeneration, which, taken together, may indicate onset of an accelerated aging phenotype with signs of osteoarthritic disease

Beyond Low-Earth Orbit: Characterizing Immune and microRNA Differentials following Simulated Deep Spaceflight Conditions in Mice

Spaceflight missions can cause immune system dysfunction in astronauts with little understanding of immune outcomes in deep space. This study assessed immune responses in mice following ground-based, simulated deep spaceflight conditions, compared with data from astronauts on International Space Station missions. For ground studies, we simulated microgravity using the hindlimb unloaded mouse model alone or in combination with acute simulated galactic cosmic rays or solar particle events irradiation. Immune profiling results revealed unique immune diversity following each experimental condition, suggesting each stressor results in distinct circulating immune responses, with clear consequences for deep spaceflight. Circulating plasma microRNA sequence analysis revealed involvement in immune system dysregulation. Furthermore, a large astronaut cohort showed elevated inflammation during low-Earth orbit missions, thereby supporting our simulated ground experiments in mice. Herein, circulating immune biomarkers are defined by distinct deep space irradiation types coupled to simulated microgravity and could be targets for future space health initiatives