Affect and Gender in Cormac McCarthy’s Outer Dark

Cormac McCarthy’s 1968 novel, Outer Dark, is arguably his only text that contains a true female protagonist. Rinthy Holme is a significant character in her own right, in part because almost half the storyline is dedicated to her, but also because she seems to generate what scholars have referred to as a sense of forcefulness or meaningfulness that is sometimes at odds with otherwise more problematic elements of her characterization. By focusing on a small excerpt of Outer Dark, I argue that Rinthy feels meaningful because of the affective resonances that the text that describes her seems to emanate, rather than solely as a result of any diegetic aspect of her characterization. I draw on Brian Massumi’s account of affect to illuminate the apparent disconnect between the content of the text about Rinthy and its actual physical effects on readers, as well as the textual operations that might cause these effects. I also investigate, however, whether Rinthy’s affective power is truly able to combat other more problematic elements of her characterization, such as her apparently essentialized maternal instinct and empathy. I conclude by arguing that although the excerpt analyzed demonstrates a powerful instance of McCarthy’s interest in the centrality of the material in the process of meaning-making, and also perhaps suggests that McCarthy gestures towards the ways in which women might engage in the world as independent, embodied agents, McCarthy ultimately cannot escape an essentialized male/female binary

Rhea Breast Pump: Implementation of Biomimicry Technology

Rhea Breast Pump is an innovative breast pump that implements biomimicry informed technology for a more efficient and comfortable breastfeeding experience. Our design implements a tongue actuator in conjunction with vacuum to mimic the suckling motion of a baby’s mouth, a heating element for pain alleviation, and a soft flange to maximize comfort. The development of this device is motivated by the goal of empowering women, specifically nursing mothers, to maintain their independence and individuality while raising a family. Our team, consisting of all female engineers, strongly believes in and supports the notion that women can and should have the freedom to effectively balance both aspects of their lives

The co-management of the Te Arawa Lakes

The restoration of indigenous rights to and interests in their traditional natural resources needs to be accompanied by practical ways in which indigenous values in relation to a resource can be met. Co-management or co-governance has emerged as an option for indigenous people in settling historical land and resource claims. Co-management offers a way in which governments and non-government entities such as and community or indigenous peoples can share decision-making over natural resources. However there are many different types and levels of co-management with, varying levels of participation and decision-making authority. Some are more effective than others at recognising indigenous values, authority and relationships. This dissertation discusses the New Zealand example of the co-management of the Te Arawa Lakes and provides an initial assessment of its cultural and environmental goals

On wings of eagles : a look at self-regulation of how high school students manage their learning with a student-centered curriculum

The purpose of this qualitative study was to determine how high school students managed their learning while working within the guidelines of a student-centered approach to teaching and learning. Data collected included interviews, questionnaires, participant observations, and Kolbe Conative Index scores supplied by the school. Seven teachers and forty students were interviewed. Student interviews were based on Zimmerman's (1995) self-regulation questionnaire. Teachers were interviewed using the Survey on Teaching Roles (Woolfolk, 1995). Analysis of the questionnaire on self-regulation was clustered into four categories representing Zimmerman's (1995) learning strategies. The open-ended questions dealt with strengths and weaknesses of the program and were analyzed for recurring themes. Patterns drawn from these categorized data sets were then triangulated with the Kolbe Conative Index for confirmation. It was concluded that the more productive students used four specific learning strategies: (1) organizing and transforming information, (2) goal setting and planning, (3) seeking help from peers, and (4) seeking help from adults. Less productive students were weak in two or more of these learning strategies along with one of two action modes as identified on the Kolbe. Students weak in Fact Finding or Follow Thru as identified by the Kolbe and that used all four learning strategies covered themselves with having the skills to learn. These same students talked about a fatigue factor involved in a student-centered approach. All students shared the importance of knowing themselves as learners and how that was a process learned over time. They also talked about the importance of the teacher-student relationship. Graduates of this program shared the perception that a student-centered curriculum provided more opportunity to develop the skills necessary for self-regulation than a traditional high school program

Learning to use discourse analysis on a professional psychology training programme: accounts of supervisees and a supervisor

Qualitative research methods have become more prominent in professional psychology training over recent years, yet there are relatively few published accounts of how students learn to use these methods. In this article we describe the experiences of British trainee clinical psychologists as they learn to use one qualitative method, Discourse Analysis, for their major research project. Based on these experiences, we discuss key aspects of the research process (e.g. supervision) and delineate dilemmas, theoretical questions, suggestions and practical advice. Extracts from a group discussion involving the supervisor and supervisees (after the trainees had completed their studies) are provided to illustrate some of these themes

Failure to up-regulate VEGF165b in maternal plasma is a first trimester predictive marker for pre-eclampsia

Pre-eclampsia is a pregnancy-related condition characterized by hypertension, proteinuria and endothelial dysfunction. VEGF165b, formed by alternative splicing of VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) pre-mRNA, inhibits VEGF165-mediated vasodilation and angiogenesis, but has not been quantified in pregnancy. ELISAs were used to measure means±S.E.M. plasma VEGF165b, sEng (soluble endoglin) and sFlt-1 (soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1). At 12 weeks of gestation, the plasma VEGF165b concentration was significantly up-regulated in plasma from women who maintained normal blood pressure throughout their pregnancy (normotensive group, 4.90±1.6 ng/ml; P<0.01, as determined using a Mann-Whitney U test) compared with non-pregnant women (0.40±0.22 ng/ml). In contrast, in patients who later developed pre-eclampsia, VEGF165b levels were lower than in the normotensive group (0.467±0.209 ng/ml), but were no greater than non-pregnant women. At term, plasma VEGF165b concentrations were greater than normal in both pre-eclamptic (3.75±2.24 ng/ml) and normotensive (10.58 ng/ml±3.74 ng/ml; P>0.1 compared with pre-eclampsia) pregnancies. Patients with a lower than median plasma VEGF165b at 12 weeks had elevated sFlt-1 and sEng pre-delivery. Concentrations of sFlt-1 (1.20±0.07 and 1.27±0.18 ng/ml) and sEng (4.4±0.18 and 4.1±0.5 ng/ml) were similar at 12 weeks of gestation in the normotensive and pre-eclamptic groups respectively. Plasma VEGF165b levels were elevated in pregnancy, but this increase is delayed in women that subsequently develop pre-eclampsia. In conclusion, low VEGF165b may therefore be a clinically useful first trimester plasma marker for increased risk of pre-eclampsia

Detection and Distribution of Viruses Infecting Garlic Crops in Australia

The distribution of viruses in eastern Australian field garlic was evaluated. Detection assays were developed that involved generic RT-PCR for viruses in the Allexivirus, Carlavirus and Potyvirus genera followed by virus-specific colorimetric dot-blot hybridization. Assays targeted the potyviruses (onion yellow dwarf virus (OYDV), shallot yellow stripe virus (SYSV), and leek yellow stripe virus (LYSV)), the carlaviruses (garlic common latent virus (GCLV) and shallot latent virus (SLV)), and the allexiviruses (garlic viruses A, B, C, X (GarVA, -B, -C, -X) and shallot virus X (ShVX)). Virus incidence in crops was consistently high, with most plants infected with at least one virus from each genus. OYDV, LYSV, SLV, and GCLV were commonly detected. Three of the four allexiviruses were in all districts surveyed but varied in incidence, whereas ShVX and SYSV were not detected. There was no association between virus species complement and bulb size, indicating size is not a good predictor of the virus status of planting material. The variation of virus incidence across different Australian growing districts and in different cultivars implies multiple introductions of viruses rather than spread within the country. The genetic diversity observed within coat protein sequences of some virus species also supports multiple separate introductions

What makes species unique? The contribution of proteins with obscure features

BACKGROUND: Proteins with obscure features (POFs), which lack currently defined motifs or domains, represent between 18% and 38% of a typical eukaryotic proteome. To evaluate the contribution of this class of proteins to the diversity of eukaryotes, we performed a comparative analysis of the predicted proteomes derived from 10 different sequenced genomes, including budding and fission yeast, worm, fly, mosquito, Arabidopsis, rice, mouse, rat, and human. RESULTS: Only 1,650 protein groups were found to be conserved among these proteomes (BLAST E-value threshold of 10(-6)). Of these, only three were designated as POFs. Surprisingly, we found that, on average, 60% of the POFs identified in these 10 proteomes (44,236 in total) were species specific. In contrast, only 7.5% of the proteins with defined features (PDFs) were species specific (17,554 in total). As a group, POFs appear similar to PDFs in their relative contribution to biological functions, as indicated by their expression, participation in protein-protein interactions and association with mutant phenotypes. However, POF have more predicted disordered structure than PDFs, implying that they may exhibit preferential involvement in species-specific regulatory and signaling networks. CONCLUSION: Because the majority of eukaryotic POFs are not well conserved, and by definition do not have defined domains or motifs upon which to formulate a functional working hypothesis, understanding their biochemical and biological functions will require species-specific investigations

Foamy oysters: vesicular microstructure production in the Gryphaeidae via emulsification

The vesicular microstructure is a very distinctive arrangement of calcite, consisting of hollow cavities (vesicles) of diverse sizes and shapes, usually elongated in the direction of shell thickening. It is uniquely found among living bivalves in a single oyster family, Gryphaeidae. The vesicles are distributed in lenses interleaved with compact foliated layers. We have studied the morphology and distribution of vesicles within the lenses using optical and electron microscopy, and microcomputed tomography. At a small scale, vesicles do not follow a classical von Neumann-Mullins route typical of ideal foams. At a larger scale, the initiation and evolution of a vesicular layer statistically proceed like a foam, with vesicles becoming more numerous, larger, and more even in size. In summary, the vesicular material follows a foam-like coarsening to reduce the number of energetically costly interfaces. However, a steady state is never reached because the animal permanently introduces energy in the system by creating new vesicles. The fabrication of the vesicular material is mediated by the production of an emulsion between the extrapallial fluid and the precursor PILP of the calcitic walls within the thin extrapallial space. For this mechanism to proceed, the mantle cells must perform highly sophisticated behaviours of contact recognition and secretion. Accordingly, the vesicular material is under mixed physical-biological control