Indiana University as the “Mother of College Presidents”: Herman B Wells as Inheritor, Exemplar, and Agent

Herman B Wells Distinguished Lecture of the Institute and Society for Advanced Study given on October 29, 2010

Psychology at Indiana University: A Centennial Review and Compendium

Preface -- The legacy of the Laboratory (1888-1988): a history of the Department of Psychology at Indiana University / by James H. Capshew --Appendices A: Psychology Faculty, 1885-1988 -- B. Department Chairs, 1885-1988 -- C. Psychological Clinic Directors, 1922-1988 -- D. Graduate Degrees, 1886-1987 -- E. Bibliography of William Lowe Bryan -- Index to Appendices A-C -- The faculty in 1988

Inverted Alu dsRNA structures do not affect localization but can alter translation efficiency of human mRNAs independent of RNA editing

With over one million copies, Alu elements are the most abundant repetitive elements in the human genome. When transcribed, interaction between two Alus that are in opposite orientation gives rise to double-stranded RNA (dsRNA). Although the presence of dsRNA in the cell was previously thought to only occur during viral infection, it is now known that cells express many endogenous small dsRNAs, such as short interfering RNA (siRNAs) and microRNA (miRNAs), which regulate gene expression. It is possible that long dsRNA structures formed from Alu elements influence gene expression. Here, we report that human mRNAs containing inverted Alu elements are present in the mammalian cytoplasm. The presence of these long intramolecular dsRNA structures within 3′-UTRs decreases translational efficiency, and although the structures undergo extensive editing in vivo, the effects on translation are independent of the presence of inosine. As inverted Alus are predicted to reside in >5 of human protein-coding genes, these intramolecular dsRNA structures are important regulators of gene expression

PSYCHOLOGY ON THE MARCH: AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGISTS AND WORLD WAR II (PROFESSIONALIZATION, UNITED STATES)

The Second World War divides the history of American psychology into two major epochs. Before the war psychology was largely an academic discipline, imbued with an ideology of experimental natural science. Following the war, psychology became identified increasingly as a consulting profession offering practical services to a variety of clients, including commercial enterprises, government agencies, and private citizens. World War II acted as a catalyst for the professionalization of applied psychology, fundamentally altering the relation between science and practice in the discipline. This dissertation explores the process of institutional change in psychology by analyzing the responses of psychologists to the wartime environment. By providing powerful incentives to engage in applied work, the war sanctioned the expansion of professional services roles outside of the university. Psychologists readily undertook the task of making their science relevant to national needs, and created a central coordinating group--the Emergency Committee in Psychology of the National Research Council--to oversee mobilization efforts. The war caused a radical occupational shift among psychologists. Around half of the 4,000-person profession was directly employed by the federal government--in the military services, in civilian agencies, or on research contracts. An additional portion voluntarily directed their teaching, research, and service activities toward wartime concerns. Pure experimentalists and applied practitioners alike got caught up in the excitment of war work. Harking back to their field\u27s accomplishments in the First World War, psychologists adopted a technocratic view of their potential contributions, and easily grafted the ideal of national service onto their existing scientific ideology. Promoting themselves as experts concerning the human factor in warfare, psychologists found employment in military personnel work, propaganda analysis, survey research, equipment design, and other areas. Although these wideranging activities often had little in common aside from a basic concern with human behavior, they helped foster a sense of mission within the psychology community. Led by Robert M. Yerkes, professionalizers took advantage of favorable wartime conditions and successfully transformed the American Psychological Association from a scientific learned society into a comprehensive professional organization. Dedicated to both science and practice, the new APA united previously fragmented interest groups and became a potent vehicle for the expansion of psychology\u27s domain as a consulting profession