Everyday feminist subjectivities : schoolteachers' micro resistance and (counter) narratives to patriarchy

This thesis traces how feminist subjectivities are shaped, formed and lived through a focus on English schoolteachers from postwar (1945-1979) and neoliberal (1980-2015) generations. The data is located in British society at a time of resurgence in feminist activism which is also simultaneously a period of ‘postfeminist sensibilities’ combined with the pervasiveness of neoliberal rationalities. In this contradictory scenario, and using a feminist approach and qualitative methods, this research is based on fifteen life story interviews that include five further in depth thematic interviews which have been thematically analysed. The core arguments of this thesis are located in a feminist poststructuralist framework. This approach highlights the fluidity of selfhood shaped by experiences, relationality and language. Subjectivity within poststructuralism is understood as neither completely free nor absolutely determined and power relations are not only limiting but also become productive in forming the subjectivities. Accordingly, this thesis explores how feminist subjectivities are constructed and shaped in multiple ways. In particular, the feminist schoolteachers in this thesis narrated the emergence of early forms of ‘protofeminism’ located in an unarticulated sense of injustice. They spoke of the influence of ‘significant women’ and the bonds of ‘imagined sisterhood’ as enabling a more fully developed awareness of gender injustice. They also talked of their practices to support gender justice, mostly non oppositional in form or as micro resistances to patriarchal practices. All these, I argue, are experiential resources for these women to draw upon in order to enable them to form alternative and counter narratives to patriarchal discourses, and thus construct feminist subjectivities and live feminist lives to resist patriarchal regimes in neoliberal times

Niños de preescolar participando en la investigación educativa mediante el enfoque mosaico

En años recientes, diversos organismos internacionales han reconocido la importancia de apoyar el desarrollo de la infancia de manera integral, y la investigación educativa no ha sido ajena a esta tendencia. Sin embargo, hasta este momento se ha enfocado casi exclusivamente a conocer la perspectiva del adulto acerca de la infancia, y la voz de los niños ha quedado prácticamente excluida. Los niños son los expertos en sus vidas y son los principales conocedores de sus intereses y necesidades al constituirse en los auténticos protagonistas de su existencia. De acuerdo con el concepto de niño activo, que construye socialmente sus interacciones con sus pares y los adultos con los que convive, se puede ampliar el conocimiento que se tiene de la infancia en sus procesos de socialización y aprendizaje. Este trabajo muestra que el enfoque mosaico es una forma productiva de conocer e incluir la perspectiva de los niños en los procesos de investigación respecto a los ambientes escolares en los que participan y un estímulo para imaginar formas creativas de llegar a sus experiencias vitales

Amerikanische wissenschaftliche Bibliotheken bilden neue Räume für die digitalen Wissenschaften. Ein Vergleich der neuen Bibliotheksräume und Angebote im Triangle Research Libraries Network (TRLN) in North Carolina

In diesem Beitrag werden die neueren Entwicklungen im Triangle Research Libraries Network (TRLN) in Bezug auf die Unterstützung der digitalen Wissenschaften vorgestellt. Um die Bibliotheken als Ort für die Arbeit an interdisziplinären, digitalbasierten wissenschaftlichen Projekten zu etablieren wurden neue Räume und Dienstleitungen geschaffen, die abhängig von den jeweiligen Universitätsprofilen Gemeinsamkeiten und Unterschiede aufweisen. Es werden insbesondere der Planungsprozess, die Herausforderungen und der neue Raum  an der Duke University vorgestellt. Außerdem wird auf die Besonderheiten in der Raumgestaltung an der University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill und der North Carolina State University eingegangen. This article presents new initiatives in the Triangle Research Libraries Network (TRLN) aimed at supporting digital scholarship. The libraries designed new project spaces for interdisciplinary, data-driven, digitally reliant or team-based research; these spaces at the three universities have many design elements in common, but there are also some significant differences in the realization of the research commons based on the institutional characteristics of the three universities. The paper describes the planning process at Duke University in more detail, including challenges, and then compares the space at Duke with the research hubs at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and the North Carolina State University

El proceso de amistad en la cultura de pares en el preescolar. Un estudio de caso donde los niños son co-investigadores

El presente es el estudio del proceso de amistad que construyen los niños con sus pares en el preescolar. Tal como se detalla en este trabajo las categorías que hemos identificado dan cuenta de los elementos que conforman este proceso donde los niños son los protagonistas en su cultura de pares al tomar sus decisiones para elegir con quienes quieren interactuar, independientemente de las presiones externas de los padres o la maestra. Esta experiencia afectiva de cooperación, diversión y complicidad se basa en una decisión voluntaria y personal que además favorece la competencia social de sus actores. Asimismo se brinda conocimiento con relación a cuáles son las características que la institución educativa puede ofrecer a sus miembros para favorecer estos intercambios a su interior, donde los espacios y la posibilidad del juego libre brinden a los niños el ambiente más propicio para que desarrollen sus habilidades sociales. Para este estudio se eligió la teoría autofundante con orientación constructivista y la herramienta para el registro y análisis de evidencias es el diario de campo con columnas múltiples. Este instrumento ha permitido en su flexibilidad registrar todo tipo de evidencias que han elaborado los propios niños para explicar qué piensan acerca del fenómeno de la amistad, así como los motivos para permanecer juntos durante el horario escolar a través de las distintas actividades del programa educativo, consolidando de esta manera unas relaciones más profundas, significativas y duraderas con sus amigos.ITESO, A. C

Vascular diameter and intima-media thickness to diameter ratio values of the carotid artery in 642 healthy children

In children, arterial alterations occur with increased intima-media thickness as well as vascular diameter enlargement. Both conditions correlate with higher cardiovascular risk in adults, and both the array and proportion of these alterations are important hemodynamic parameters. In terms of functional adaptation processes, they influence several arterial wall properties as for example the shear and tensile stress of the vessel. There are no reference values for the vascular diameter and intima-media thickness/diameter ratio of the carotid artery in children. Therefore, this study aimed to assess vascular diameter, intima-media thickness/diameter ratio and related tensile stress values in children and to further investigate the influence of sex, age, body mass index, and blood pressure. The parameters were measured with high-resolution semi-automated ultrasound. Sex- and age-dependent values were calculated with the LMS method for a cross-sectional sample of 642 healthy, non-obese children aged 8-17 years. The mean vascular diameter was 5.45 ± 0.46 mm; the median intima-media thickness/diameter ratio was 0.085 (0.079-0.092); the median tensile stress was 105.4 (95.2-116.4) kPa. The vascular diameter and the tensile stress were higher, and the intima-media thickness/diameter ratio was lower in boys than in girls. In comparison to the normal weight study population the excludedobese children had a significantly higher diameter, a lower intima-media thickness/diameter ratio, and a higher tensile stress. In multiple regression analyses of diameter, intima-media thickness/diameter ratio, and tensile stress, all parameters were influenced by sex and body mass index. Furthermore, systolic and diastolic blood pressure significantly influenced the vascular diameter, and systolic blood pressure significantly influenced the intima-media thickness/diameter ratio. Conclusion: This study is the first to report values for the diameter, the intima-media thickness/diameter ratio of the carotid artery, and the related tensile stress allowing a more differentiated view of cardiovascular adaptations as it combines structural and functional vascular parameters. What is known: • Intima-media thickness and vascular diameter are related to a higher cardiovascular risk in adults • The intima-media thickness/diameter ratio gives information about hemodynamic and functional vessel adaptation What is new: • Values for vascular diameter, intima-media thickness/diameter ratio, and tensile stress of the carotid artery in children are presented in this study • Intima-media thickness as a surrogate marker for arterial health in children should be complemented by intima-media thickness/diameter ratio measurement

Power and the association with relationship quality in South African couples: Implications for HIV/AIDS interventions.

Introduction: power imbalances within sexual relationships have significant implications for HIV prevention in sub-Saharan Africa. Little is known about how power influences the quality of a relationship, which could be an important pathway leading to healthy behavior around HIV/AIDS.Methods: this paper uses data from 448 heterosexual couples (896 individuals) in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa who completed baseline surveys from 2012 to 2014 as part of a couples-based HIV intervention trial. Using an actor-partner interdependence perspective, we assessed: (1) how both partners' perceptions of power influences their own (i.e., actor effect) and their partner's reports of relationship quality (i.e., partner effect); and (2) whether these associations differed by gender. We examined three constructs related to power (female power, male equitable gender norms, and shared power) and four domains of relationship quality (intimacy, trust, mutually constructive communication, and conflict).Results: for actor effects, shared power was strongly and consistently associated with higher relationship quality across all four domains. The effect of shared power on trust, mutually constructive communication, and conflict were stronger for men than women. The findings for female power and male equitable gender norms were more mixed. Female power was positively associated with women's reports of trust and mutually constructive communication, but negatively associated with intimacy. Male equitable gender norms were positively associated with men's reports of mutually constructive communication. For partner effects, male equitable gender norms were positively associated with women's reports of intimacy and negatively associated with women's reports of conflict.Conclusions: research and health interventions aiming to improving HIV-related behaviors should consider sources of shared power within couples and potential leverage points for empowerment at the couple level. Efforts solely focused on empowering women should also take the dyadic environment and men's perspectives into account to ensure positive relationship outcome

BMC Bioinformatics / MAESTRO - multi agent stability prediction upon point mutations

Background: Point mutations can have a strong impact on protein stability. A change in stability may subsequently lead to dysfunction and finally cause diseases. Moreover, protein engineering approaches aim to deliberately modify protein properties, where stability is a major constraint. In order to support basic research and protein design tasks, several computational tools for predicting the change in stability upon mutations have been developed. Comparative studies have shown the usefulness but also limitations of such programs. Results: We aim to contribute a novel method for predicting changes in stability upon point mutation in proteins called MAESTRO. MAESTRO is structure based and distinguishes itself from similar approaches in the following points: (i) MAESTRO implements a multi-agent machine learning system. (ii) It also provides predicted free energy change ( G) values and a corresponding prediction confidence estimation. (iii) It provides high throughput scanning for multi-point mutations where sites and types of mutation can be comprehensively controlled. (iv) Finally, the software provides a specific mode for the prediction of stabilizing disulfide bonds. The predictive power of MAESTRO for single point mutations and stabilizing disulfide bonds is comparable to similar methods. Conclusions: MAESTRO is a versatile tool in the field of stability change prediction upon point mutations. Executables for the Linux and Windows operating systems are freely available to non-commercial users from http://biwww.che.sbg.ac.at/MAESTRO.Josef Laimer, Heidi Hofer, Marko Fritz, Stefan Wegenkittl and Peter Lackne

Comparison of variant calling methods for whole genome sequencing data in dairy cattle

Accurate identification of SNPs from next-generation sequencing data is crucial for high-quality downstream analysis. Whole genome sequence data of 65 key ancestors of genotyped Swiss dairy populations were available for investigation (24 billion reads, 96.8% mapped to UMD31, 12x coverage). Four publically available variant calling programmes were assessed and different levels of pre-calling handling for each method were tested and compared. SNP concordance was examined with Illumina’s BovineHD Genotyping BeadChip®. Depending on variant calling software used, between 16,894,054 and 22,048,382 SNP were identified (multi-sample calling). A total of 14,644,310 SNP were identified by all four variant callers (multi-sample calling). InDel counts ranged from 1,997,791 to 2,857,754; 1,708,649 InDels were identified by all four variant callers. A minimum of pre-calling data handling resulted in the highest non-reference sensitivity and the lowest non-reference discrepancy rates

Using Participatory Mapping to Inform a Community-Randomized Trial of HIV Counseling and Testing

Participatory mapping and transect walks were used to inform the research and intervention design and to begin building community relations in preparation for Project Accept, a community-randomized trial sponsored by the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). NIMH Project Accept is being conducted in five sites within four countries including Thailand, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Tanzania. Results from the mapping exercises informed decisions about the research design such as defining community boundaries, and identifying appropriate criteria for matching community pairs for the trial. The mapping also informed intervention related decisions such as where to situate the services. The participatory methods enabled each site to develop an understanding of the communities that could not have been derived from existing data or data collected through standard data collection techniques. Furthermore, the methods lay the foundation for collaborative community research partnerships

Confidential Consortium Framework: Secure Multiparty Applications with Confidentiality, Integrity, and High Availability

Confidentiality, integrity protection, and high availability, abbreviated to CIA, are essential properties for trustworthy data systems. The rise of cloud computing and the growing demand for multiparty applications however means that building modern CIA systems is more challenging than ever. In response, we present the Confidential Consortium Framework (CCF), a general-purpose foundation for developing secure stateful CIA applications. CCF combines centralized compute with decentralized trust, supporting deployment on untrusted cloud infrastructure and transparent governance by mutually untrusted parties. CCF leverages hardware-based trusted execution environments for remotely verifiable confidentiality and code integrity. This is coupled with state machine replication backed by an auditable immutable ledger for data integrity and high availability. CCF enables each service to bring its own application logic, custom multiparty governance model, and deployment scenario, decoupling the operators of nodes from the consortium that governs them. CCF is open-source and available now at https://github.com/microsoft/CCF.Comment: 16 pages, 9 figures. To appear in the Proceedings of the VLDB Endowment, Volume 1