The effects of television on the social construction of body images by five- and six-year-old girls

Television images influence individuals (Elliott and Slater, 1980). Cognitive learning theory suggests that during the first five to six years of life, children’s behavior patterns will be set (Donohue, 1975). Television has the potential to be a positive influence on learning. However, typical American media and television have been a negative influence on most children (Williams, 1981). A 1996 study reported thirty-nine-point-one percent of first graders do not like their appearance and would change their looks, given the opportunity. It has been suggested the mass media are responsible and have taught children fat is bad and thin is good (Flannery-Schroeder and Chrisler, 1996). Research has also found this to be true in adult women. Watching thirty minutes or more of television programming and advertisements a day may alter a woman’s body image. Meyers and Biocca (1992) suggested that media feature thinner women, creating a thinner social ideal, which is unrealistic for most women. The purpose of this study was to determine how television might affect the body image of five- and six-year-old girls. Based on the theory of social construction of reality, it was suggested that girls who are exposed to attractive female television personalities will want to be attractive themselves, as they would like to receive the same positive attention. This study was unable to support that television exposure leads to a negative body image in girls of this age. This study does suggest that girls of this age tend to have a low level of body image awareness. Daily life experiences seem to be more of an influence at this age than television. It is not to say that girls of this age are not affected by the mass media. Perhaps interviews were not the appropriate methodology. It is also possible media do not influence girls of this age as the researcher suggested. The pilot study sample was self-selected, a very limited sample size, and may not be representative of the entire population of girls this age

Evaluation of Capacity-Building Programs: A Learning Organization Approach

Major Extension programming, whether in community development, nutrition, youth development, small business, or other areas, strengthens organizations by enhancing the capacity of members to work together effectively. Yet evaluating these impacts is difficult and rarely done in practice. In this article, we apply ideas from the Learning Organization model to the evaluation of capacity-building programs. We identify questions that Extension educators can ask in evaluating the impact of their programming on an organization. In our view, a Learning Organization approach to evaluation holds promise in providing Extension educators with tools to demonstrate the value of their interventions with organizations

Les motivations et la croissance des femmes entrepreneures: une etude internationale

On assiste ces dernières décennies à un accroissement du nombre d’entreprises créées par des femmes. Cependant, malgré l’augmentation du nombre de femmes en affaires, les recherches dans le domaine rapportent que les entreprises appartenant à des femmes sont plus petites et moins portées vers la croissance que les entreprises appartenant à des hommes. L’objectif de cette recherche est d’aller mettre à jour l’état des connaissances dans ce champ d’études sachant que le profil des femmes entrepreneures évolue, et que les caractéristiques de leur entreprise changent egalement. Pour répondre à ces objectifs, l’étude a eu recours à un échantillon de 1 211 entrepreneurs provenant du Canada, des États-Unis et du Mexique

Multi-Institutional FASTQ File Exchange as a Means of Proficiency Testing for Next-Generation Sequencing Bioinformatics and Variant Interpretation

Next-generation sequencing is becoming increasingly common in clinical laboratories worldwide and is revolutionizing clinical molecular testing. However, the large amounts of raw data produced by next-generation sequencing assays and the need for complex bioinformatics analyses present unique challenges. Proficiency testing in clinical laboratories has traditionally been designed to evaluate assays in their entirety; however, it can be alternatively applied to separate assay components. We developed and implemented a multi-institutional proficiency testing approach to directly assess custom bioinformatics and variant interpretation processes. Six clinical laboratories, all of which use the same commercial library preparation kit for next-generation sequencing analysis of tumor specimens, each submitted raw data (FASTQ files) from four samples. These 24 file sets were then deidentified and redistributed to five of the institutions for analysis and interpretation according to their clinically validated approach. Among the laboratories, there was a high rate of concordance in the calling of single-nucleotide variants, in particular those we considered clinically significant (100% concordance). However, there was significant discordance in the calling of clinically significant insertions/deletions, with only two of seven being called by all participating laboratories. Missed calls were addressed by each laboratory to improve their bioinformatics processes. Thus, through our alternative proficiency testing approach, we identified the bioinformatic detection of insertions/deletions as an area of particular concern for clinical laboratories performing next-generation sequencing testing

P granules extend the nuclear pore complex environment in the C. elegans germ line

Like the nuclear pore complex, FG repeat–containing P-granule proteins interact to help establish a size-exclusion barrier

GLS-1, a Novel P Granule Component, Modulates a Network of Conserved RNA Regulators to Influence Germ Cell Fate Decisions

Post-transcriptional regulatory mechanisms are widely used to influence cell fate decisions in germ cells, early embryos, and neurons. Many conserved cytoplasmic RNA regulatory proteins associate with each other and assemble on target mRNAs, forming ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complexes, to control the mRNAs translational output. How these RNA regulatory networks are orchestrated during development to regulate cell fate decisions remains elusive. We addressed this problem by focusing on Caenorhabditis elegans germline development, an exemplar of post-transcriptional control mechanisms. Here, we report the discovery of GLS-1, a new factor required for many aspects of germline development, including the oocyte cell fate in hermaphrodites and germline survival. We find that GLS-1 is a cytoplasmic protein that localizes in germ cells dynamically to germplasm (P) granules. Furthermore, its functions depend on its ability to form a protein complex with the RNA-binding Bicaudal-C ortholog GLD-3, a translational activator and P granule component important for similar germ cell fate decisions. Based on genetic epistasis experiments and in vitro competition experiments, we suggest that GLS-1 releases FBF/Pumilio from GLD-3 repression. This facilitates the sperm-to-oocyte switch, as liberated FBF represses the translation of mRNAs encoding spermatogenesis-promoting factors. Our proposed molecular mechanism is based on the GLS-1 protein acting as a molecular mimic of FBF/Pumilio. Furthermore, we suggest that a maternal GLS-1/GLD-3 complex in early embryos promotes the expression of mRNAs encoding germline survival factors. Our work identifies GLS-1 as a fundamental regulator of germline development. GLS-1 directs germ cell fate decisions by modulating the availability and activity of a single translational network component, GLD-3. Hence, the elucidation of the mechanisms underlying GLS-1 functions provides a new example of how conserved machinery can be developmentally manipulated to influence cell fate decisions and tissue development

Genome-Wide Analysis of GLD-1–Mediated mRNA Regulation Suggests a Role in mRNA Storage

Translational repression is often accompanied by mRNA degradation. In contrast, many mRNAs in germ cells and neurons are “stored" in the cytoplasm in a repressed but stable form. Unlike repression, the stabilization of these mRNAs is surprisingly little understood. A key player in Caenorhabditis elegans germ cell development is the STAR domain protein GLD-1. By genome-wide analysis of mRNA regulation in the germ line, we observed that GLD-1 has a widespread role in repressing translation but, importantly, also in stabilizing a sub-population of its mRNA targets. Additionally, these mRNAs appear to be stabilized by the DDX6-like RNA helicase CGH-1, which is a conserved component of germ granules and processing bodies. Because many GLD-1 and CGH-1 stabilized mRNAs encode factors important for the oocyte-to-embryo transition (OET), our findings suggest that the regulation by GLD-1 and CGH-1 serves two purposes. Firstly, GLD-1–dependent repression prevents precocious translation of OET–promoting mRNAs. Secondly, GLD-1– and CGH-1–dependent stabilization ensures that these mRNAs are sufficiently abundant for robust translation when activated during OET. In the absence of this protective mechanism, the accumulation of OET–promoting mRNAs, and consequently the oocyte-to-embryo transition, might be compromised