I, Anna (2012) and the Femme Fatale: Neo-Noir and Representations of Female Old Age

Through textual analysis this paper explores neo-noir film I, Anna (Southcombe, 2012). This paper promotes the concept of the femme fatale in modern film noir as having much to offer women and ageing studies. Older women on screen have commonly been theorised within two opposing paradigms: ageing as decline, and ageing successfully. This paper argues that through a specific representation of the aged femme fatale body I, Anna offers a destabilisation of the common femme fatale stereotype. This contributes a more nuanced understanding of women and ageing on screen than the representations that are usually discussed in film and/or ageing studies. This paper also marks out this neo-noir British film as an interesting avenue from which to explore the representation of ageing women in film, as existing research has so far focussed on romantic comedy and bio-pic. This paper therefore seeks to add to the growing body of new work on female ageing and representations in the media

I, Anna (2012) and the Femme Fatale: Neo-Noir and Representations of Female Old Age

Through textual analysis this paper explores neo-noir film I, Anna (Southcombe, 2012). This paper promotes the concept of the femme fatale in modern film noir as having much to offer women and ageing studies. Older women on screen have commonly been theorised within two opposing paradigms: ageing as decline, and ageing successfully. This paper argues that through a specific representation of the aged femme fatale body I, Anna offers a destabilisation of the common femme fatale stereotype. This contributes a more nuanced understanding of women and ageing on screen than the representations that are usually discussed in film and/or ageing studies. This paper also marks out this neo-noir British film as an interesting avenue from which to explore the representation of ageing women in film, as existing research has so far focussed on romantic comedy and bio-pic. This paper therefore seeks to add to the growing body of new work on female ageing and representations in the media

The Dennis Potter Heritage Project: Auto/Ethnography as Process and Product

The Dennis Potter Heritage Project provides a unique opportunity for complex empirical research. It offers the researcher a chance to study the organisational and cultural processes involved in the evolution of a heritage project, created to celebrate a locally important and culturally significant media icon. It promotes the exploration of memory within the locally specific heritage environment of the Forest of Dean and the Dean Heritage Centre’s exhibition space, and it offers the opportunity to study emergent ideas of affect and emotion (Clough 2007; Thrift 2008). Research on the DPHP therefore necessitates a new, complex and innovative approach to methods and methodology. This paper explores autoethnography as both a process a methodology) which can be combined with other qualitative methods, and as a final product (as a mode of writing adopted in the finished research)

Biomarker Development for Advanced Prostate Cancer

Patients diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer starting long term ADT follow a highly variable clinical course. Treatment intensification improves outcome overall, but without biomarkers we overtreat some subgroups and we are unable to direct the most effective treatment strategy to others. I developed a protocol for biomarker discovery and evaluation, leveraging the STAMPEDE trial, in which donated clinical samples are associated with prospective clinical data. Genomic copy number alterations commonly occur in prostate cancer, however the clinical implication of copy number change in advanced HSPC is unknown. I generated low coverage WGS data from FFPE tissue from participants in the control group of STAMPEDE and copy number profiled 688 tumour regions from 300 participants to describe the association between the burden of copy number alteration and outcome. The burden of copy number alteration positively associated with radiologically-evident distant metastases at diagnosis (P value=0.00006) and showed a non-linear relationship with clinical outcome on univariable and multivariable analysis, characterised by a sharp increase in the relative risk of progression (P value=0.003) and death (P value=0.045) for each unit increase, stabilising into more modest increases with higher burdens. This association between copy number burden and outcome was similar in each of the metastatic states. Copy number loss occurred significantly more frequently than gain at the lowest copy number burden quartile (q=4.1X10-6). Loss of segments in chromosome 5q21-22 and gains at 8q21-24, respectively including CHD1 and cMYC, occurred more frequently in cases with higher copy number alteration. Intra-patient burden of copy number alteration variance associated with increased risk of distant metastases (Kruskal-Wallis test P value=0.037). In conclusion, copy number alteration at diagnosis in advanced prostate cancer associates with increased risk of metastases and accumulation of a limited number of copy number alterations associates with most of the increased risk of disease progression and death

A Director Acts: My Experience Directing and Acting in a Short Film

The purpose of this creative thesis was to test the difficulties of both directing and acting in a short film at the same time. I began my research by completing three honors petitions that covered this subject and used the information I gained while writing and performing them to inform my decisions while completing the thesis. During pre-production, I prepared for my roles in the film and began to discover the challenges involved. In the production phase, I directed and acted in a short film over the course of five days. This experiment has led me to believe that one must prepare seriously for such an undertaking, as it is not an easy task

Doctor of Philosophy

dissertationThe Glu-Leu-Arg (ELR)(+) chemokine C-X-C ligand 1 (CXCL1) is widely known to be involved in the recruitment of neutrophils to sites of inflammation by binding to the receptor C-X-C receptor 2 (CXCR2) expressed on the surface of neutrophils. The role of neutrophils in central nervous system (CNS) diseases has not been well characterized. Thus, we wanted to better understand the role of the CXCL1/CXCR2 signaling axis in the context of mouse models of the human demyelinating disease multiple sclerosis (MS), including infection with the JHM strain of mouse hepatitis virus (JHMV) and the myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) peptide from amino acid 35 to 55 (MOG35-55)-induced Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis (EAE) model. In both models, the doxycycline (Dox)-inducible expression of CXCL1 from astrocytes selectively increased the recruitment of neutrophils into the spinal cord, correlating with an increase in both morbidity and demyelination. Antibody-mediated depletion of neutrophils during the overexpression of CXCL1 in the CNS correlated with a decrease in the severity of demyelination, indicating a role for neutrophils in white matter disease in JHMV-infected mice and MOG35-55-induced EAE. During CNS development, proliferation and migration of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) was dependent upon surface expression of the chemokine receptor CXCR2; genetic ablation of Cxcr2 resulted in misalignments in oligodendrocyte lineage cells (OLCs), decreased white matter in the spinal cord, and decreased myelin sheath thickness. Subsequent studies have determined that CXCR2 signaling has important roles on both hematopoietic and non-hematopoietic cells in remyelination in different models of demyelination. To better determine the role the CXCR2 signaling on OLCs during the pathogenesis of JHMV and MOG35-55 EAE, mice were engineered in which CXCR2 expression was inducibly ablated on oligodendroglia upon treatment with tamoxifen. Using both the JHMV infection and EAE models, we observed no significant changes in clinical disease, demyelination, or leukocyte infiltration into the CNS following tamoxifen-induced ablation in oligodendrocytes, indicating that CXCR2 in OLCs does not appear to be important in the pathogenesis of JHMV and MOG35-55 EAE

Ethnodrama as a Path to Teacher Euphoria: How Might Ethnodrama Influence Teachers\u27 Perceptions of Themselves and Promote Teacher Euphoria?

This study is intended as a mini-pilot program, exploring the potential of ethnodrama to positively impact the burnout experiences of urban public secondary teachers. The current study holds small sample sizes and limited development time, yet an informant panel of nine teachers met in three sessions to discuss and reveal their personal stories, and to plan an ethnodramatic performance to be shared with the entire school faculty and administration (Mienczakowski, Handbook 468; Saldaña, Anthology 2). Informant panelists’ dispositions toward burnout was measured pre and post experience via the Maslach Burnout Inventory, and a small, non- participant group was also measured for comparison purposes. The research project was essentially Action Research through performance, with the researcher positioned as an insider, working in a joint effort with other insiders in my organization (Mienczakowski and Morgan 219). Qualitative in scope, my research grows from a place of concern and passion for my vocation. The purpose of this study was to determine how interactive theatre, specifically Ethnodrama, might have a positive influence on teachers by promoting teacher euphoria©, thereby increasing self-efficacy, reducing stress, and minimizing the loss of quality human capital in our schools. Results, though statistically insignificant, demonstrated a clear and present need for effective teacher development in the urban public school. Further, the study continues to support the growing research on ethnodrama as a tool for change in a variety of professions. A larger sample size, more time to develop the ethnodrama, and an assessment tool more closely aligned with the specific topic areas dictated by the panel, are among the recommendations for further study. This mini-pilot shows potential for widespread use with teacher groups. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA: Antioch University Repository and Archive, http://aura.antioc.edu/ and Ohio LINK ETD Center, https://etd.ohiolink.ed

The State of Sailing Ships of the 19th Century

In the days of sailing ships, life was rigorous, very hard and dangerous. Ships were not checked prior to sailing although there was a Merchant Shipping Act, unfortunately not enforced until 1854 when the Board of Trade was formed