Exploring young adults\u27 perspectives on communication with aunts

Women are typically studied as daughters, sisters, mothers, or grandmothers. However, many, if not most, women are also aunts. In this study, we offer a preliminary exploration of the meaning of aunts as familial figures. We collected 70 nieces\u27 and nephews\u27 written accounts of their aunts. Thematic analysis of these accounts revealed nine themes, which were divided into two categories. The first category represented the role of the aunt as a teacher, role model, confidante, savvy peer, and second mother. The second category represented the practices of aunting: gifts/treats, maintaining family connections, encouragement, and nonengagement. Our analysis illuminates important aspects of aunts in family schema and kin keeping

The poetic is political….and other notes on engaged scholarship

Instrumental and objectivist logics maintain a hegemonic place in Western scholarship, reasoning skills powerfully equipped to address certain dilemmas even as they may obscure other ways of knowing. In this chapter, we enlarge dominant notions of rationality by offering an aesthetic view of knowledge as vital for engaged communication scholarship. Our interest in aesthetic logics parallels concerns that have led scholars to develop feminist practices of inquiry (e.g., Harding, 1998; Hesse-Biber, 2007), interrogate the aesthetics of representations in West-centric knowledge structures from postcolonial and Subaltern Studies standpoints (e.g., Broadfoot & Munshi, 2007; Dutta, 2007, 2008), focus on autoethnographic and poetic accounts ( e.g., Carr, 2003; Ellingson, 2009), introduce reflexivity and the politics of personhood in the scholarly process ( e.g., Harding, 1991; Reinharz, 1992), and adopt narrative and dialogic understandings of knowledge constructions (e.g., Frank, 2005; Harter, 2005). Loosely coupled, these research trajectories advance alternative rationalities for witnessing and answering salient social issues. We argue for the theoretical and practical incorporation of aesthetic rationalities in engaged scholarship-logics of poss ibility that cultivate individuals \u27 capacities to imagine otherwise. Reimagining scholarly inquiry to reflect and embrace aesthetic logics requires us to rethink our methods of data collection, analysis, and representation and our own roles as researchers and writers . When we resist the art/science dichotomy, opportunities abound for sensemaking and representation that embody aesthetic ways of knowing. Furthermore, rejection of dichotomous thinking opens up possibilities for listening to ways of knowing that lie beyond the realm of Eurocentric knowledge structures (Dutta, in press). Even after the interpretive turn, instrumental and objectivist logics often underlie and sometimes constrain the processes and products of social scientific research (Denzin & Lincoln, 2005). Traditional structures and modes of research offer important but limited conceptualizations of knowing. We can open ourselves to other ways of asking questions that include overt attention to aesthetic sensibilities . We need not reject or abandon traditional modes of research. Instead, we can enlarge the realm of possibilities for what counts as accepted research practices and advance methods for studying the aesthetic nature of communal life (Ellingson, 2009). In this chapter, we develop an understanding of rationality that incorporates imagination, and we explore methodologies that draw on creative sensibilities. We then articul ate the salience of creativity for rendering credible previously subjugated voices, and we articulate its value for engaged communication theory and research

Most of the genetic covariation between major depressive and alcohol use disorders is explained by trait measures of negative emotionality and behavioral control

Background Mental health disorders commonly co-occur, even between conceptually distinct syndromes, such as internalizing and externalizing disorders. The current study investigated whether phenotypic, genetic, and environmental variance in negative emotionality and behavioral control account for the covariation between major depressive disorder (MDD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD). Method A total of 3623 members of a national twin registry were administered structured diagnostic telephone interviews that included assessments of lifetime histories of MDD and AUD, and were mailed self-report personality questionnaires that assessed stress reactivity (SR) and behavioral control (CON). A series of biometric models were fitted to partition the proportion of covariance between MDD and AUD into SR and CON. Results A statistically significant proportion of the correlation between MDD and AUD was due to variance specific to SR (men = 0.31, women = 0.27) and CON (men = 0.20, women = 0.19). Further, genetic factors explained a large proportion of this correlation (0.63), with unique environmental factors explaining the rest. SR explained a significant proportion of the genetic (0.33) and environmental (0.23) overlap between MDD and AUD. In contrast, variance specific to CON accounted for genetic overlap (0.32), but not environmental overlap (0.004). In total, SR and CON accounted for approximately 70% of the genetic and 20% of the environmental covariation between MDD and AUD. Conclusions This is the first study to demonstrate that negative emotionality and behavioral control confer risk for the co-occurrence of MDD and AUD via genetic factors. These findings are consistent with the aims of NIMH's RDoC proposal to elucidate how transdiagnostic risk factors drive psychopathology

Characterization of Melt Infiltrated SiC/SiC Composite Combustor Liners Using Meso- and Micro-NDE Techniques

Melt-infiltrated ceramic matrix composite SiC/SiC material systems are under development for use in combustor liners for low-emission advanced gas turbines. Uncertainty in repeatability of processing methods for these large components (33--76 cm diameter), and hence possible reduced reliability for the end user. This requires that appropriate test methods, at both meso- and micro-scale, be used to ensure that the liners are acceptable for use. Nondestructive evaluation (NDE) methods, if demonstrated to reliably detect changes caused by processing, would be of significant benefit to both manufacturer and end user. This paper describes the NDE methods and their applications in detecting a process upset in a melt-infiltrated 33 cm combustor liner and how high-resolution scanning electron microscopy was used to verify the NDE data

Star Formation in Cluster Galaxies at 0.2<z<0.55

The rest frame equivalent width of the [OII]3727 emission line, W(OII), has been measured for cluster and field galaxies in the CNOC redshift survey of rich clusters at 0.2<z<0.55. Emission lines of any strength in cluster galaxies at all distances from the cluster centre, out to 2R_{200}, are less common than in field galaxies. The mean W(OII) in cluster galaxies more luminous than M_r^k<-18.5 + 5\log h (q_o=0.1) is 3.8 \pm 0.3 A (where the uncertainty is the 1 sigma error in the mean), significantly less than the field galaxy mean of 11.2 \pm 0.3 A. For the innermost cluster members (R<0.3R_{200}), the mean W(OII) is only 0.3 \pm 0.4 A. Thus, it appears that neither the infall process nor internal tides in the cluster induce detectable excess star formation in cluster galaxies relative to the field. The colour-radius relation of the sample is unable to fully account for the lack of cluster galaxies with W(OII)>10 A, as expected in a model of cluster formation in which star formation is truncated upon infall. Evidence of supressed star formation relative to the field is present in the whole cluster sample, out to 2 R_{200}, so the mechanism responsible for the differential evolution must be acting at a large distance from the cluster centre, and not just in the core. The mean star formation rate in the cluster galaxies with the strongest emission corresponds to an increase in the total stellar mass of less than about 4% if the star formation is due to a secondary burst lasting 0.1 Gyr.Comment: aasms4 latex, 3 postscript figures, accepted for publication in ApJ Letters. Also available at http://astrowww.phys.uvic.ca/~balogh

Diffusion MR Characteristics Following Concurrent Radiochemotherapy Predicts Progression-Free and Overall Survival in Newly Diagnosed Glioblastoma.

The standard of care for newly diagnosed glioblastoma (GBM) is surgery, then radiotherapy (RT) with concurrent temozolomide (TMZ), followed by adjuvant TMZ. We hypothesized patients with low diffusivity measured using apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) histogram analysis evaluated after RT+TMZ, prior to adjuvant TMZ, would have a significantly shorter progression-free (PFS) and overall survival (OS). To test this hypothesis we evaluated 120 patients with newly diagnosed GBM receiving RT+TMZ followed by adjuvant TMZ. MRI was performed after completion of RT+TMZ, prior to initiation of adjuvant TMZ. A double Gaussian mixed model was used to describe the ADC histograms within the enhancing tumor, where ADCL and ADCH were defined as the mean ADC value of the lower and higher Gaussian distribution, respectively. An ADCL value of 1.0 um2/ms and ADCH value of 1.6 um2/ms were used to stratify patients into high and low risk categories. Results suggest patients with low ADCL had significantly shorter PFS (Cox Hazard Ratio = 0.12, P = 0.0006). OS was significantly shorter with low ADCL tumors, showing a median OS of 407 vs. 644 days (Cox Hazard Ratio = 0.31, P = 0.047). ADCH was not predictive of PFS or OS when accounting for age and ADCL. In summary, newly diagnosed glioblastoma patients with low ADCL after completion of RT+TMZ are likely to progress and die earlier than patients with higher ADCL. Results suggest ADC histogram analysis may be useful for patient risk stratification following completion of RT+TMZ

The LWA1 Radio Telescope

LWA1 is a new radio telescope operating in the frequency range 10-88 MHz, located in central New Mexico. The telescope consists of 258 pairs of dipole-type antennas whose outputs are individually digitized and formed into beams. Simultaneously, signals from all dipoles can be recorded using one of the instrument's "all dipoles" modes, facilitating all-sky imaging. Notable features of the instrument include high intrinsic sensitivity (about 6 kJy zenith system equivalent flux density), large instantaneous bandwidth (up to 78 MHz), and 4 independently-steerable beams utilizing digital "true time delay" beamforming. This paper summarizes the design of LWA1 and its performance as determined in commissioning experiments. We describe the method currently in use for array calibration, and report on measurements of sensitivity and beamwidth.Comment: 9 pages, 14 figures, accepted by IEEE Trans. Antennas & Propagation. Various minor changes from previous versio

Embodied Knowledge: Writing Researchers’ Bodies Into Qualitative Health Research

After more than a decade of postpositivist health care research and an increase in narrative writing practices, social scientific, qualitative health research remains largely disembodied. The erasure of researchers’ bodies from conventional accounts of research obscures the complexities of knowledge production and yields deceptively tidy accounts of research. Qualitative health research could benefit significantly from embodied writing that explores the discursive relationship between the body and the self and the semantic challenges of writing the body by incorporating bodily details and experiences into research accounts. Researchers can represent their bodies by incorporating autoethnographic narratives, drawing on all of their senses, interrogating the connections between their bodily signifiers and research processes, and experimenting with the semantics of self and body. The author illustrates opportunities for embodiment with excerpts from an ethnography of a geriatric oncology team and explores implications of embodied writing for the practice of qualitative health research

The X-ray Size-Temperature Relation for Intermediate Redshift Galaxy Clusters

We present the first measurements of the X-ray size-temperature (ST) relation in intermediate redshift (z~0.30) galaxy clusters. We interpret the local ST relation (z~0.06) in terms of underlying scaling relations in the cluster dark matter properties, and then we use standard models for the redshift evolution of those dark matter properties to show that the ST relation does not evolve with redshift. We then use ROSAT HRI observations of 11 clusters to examine the intermediate redshift ST relation; for currently favored cosmological parameters, the intermediate redshift ST relation is consistent with that of local clusters. Finally, we use the ST relation and our evolution model to measure angular diameter distances; with these 11 distances we evaluate constraints on Omega_M and Omega_L which are consistent with those derived from studies of Type Ia supernovae. The data rule out a model with Omega_M=1 and Omega_L=0 with 2.5 sigma confidence. When limited to models where Omega_M+Omega_L=1, these data are inconsistent with Omega_M=1 with 3 sigma confidence.Comment: ApJ: submitted April 7, accepted June 28, to appear Dec 1 (vol 544