Stirring Words - Women and the making of modern food writing

Twentieth-century women have shaped modern food writing, bringing a gastronomic approach to everyday practice. Yet their impact has had little scholarly consideration. In this thesis I examine the work of women who defined food writing into the 21st century, and argue the genre is fundamentally a female form. I begin 200 years ago when women emerge as professional food writers, and I explore 19th century discursive and economic conditions which lead them to create a hybridised genre. I argue that gastronomic literature, previously exclusively in the male domain, moves into the female domain in the 20th century, thanks to M.F.K. Fisher and Elizabeth David who place everyday cooking practice in a framework of literature, history and culture. Through the lens of Michel Foucault’s theory of transdiscursivity, I argue M.F. K. Fisher and Elizabeth David feminised what was deemed the male domain of gastronomic writing and masculinised the female mainstay in food writing, the cookery book. I argue that Claudia Roden, within the framework of transnationalism and cultural hybridity, offered ethnographic exploration of other culinary cultures; and Charmaine Solomon, informed by Luce Giard’s (1998) study of everyday practice, exemplified the embodied intelligence of culinary practice. I conclude that contemporary women food writers such as Nigella Lawson and Kylie Kwong have expanded the genre as a female form and, in the world of the Internet and all-pervasive social media, their influence, and the work of others, calls for further research

ICT in the workplace: access for all or digital divide?

The paper presents the findings of research into the extent and impact of restricted access to ICT based communications for specific groups of staff in UK further and higher education organisations. Educational institutions disseminate key corporate information internally via email, intranets and Virtual Learning Environments. However, the extent to which access to electronic communications is available to all personnel within such institutions in the UK has not previously been established. The research arose from a concern that a significant proportion of staff were being routinely excluded from access, thus perpetuating and extending existing inequalities among personnel and creating a digital divide between the ‘information rich’ and the ‘information poor’. A questionnaire survey was used to quantify the extent of restrictions on staff access across the sector, whilst case study research was used to conduct a qualitative analysis of its impact on individuals and institutions. The findings indicate that lack of hardware and network infrastructure pose less of a barrier to access than does lack of ICT skills, lack of motivation either to use computers or to gain ICT skills, and line manager resistance to staff using computers or accessing ICT training in work time. Job function was the factor most associated with lack of access, with cleaning, catering and estates staff least likely to have access. However, there were also examples identified of effective practice in extending the range of personnel with access and ensuring inclusive communication with all personnel. These insights into good practice should be transferable to a wide range of workplace contexts

Cleaners don’t need computers : bridging the digital divide in the workplace

Purpose: To report the findings of research into the extent and impact of restricted access by specific groups of staff to ICT-based communications in UK Further and Higher Education Institutions. Design / methodology / approach: An exploratory approach combining quantitative and qualitative methods. A questionnaire survey was distributed to all HEFCE-funded institutions in the UK. Six institutions acted as case study sites for in-depth qualitative investigation using documentary analysis and semi-structured interviews. Findings: Lack of hardware and network infrastructure posed less of a barrier than lack of ICT skills, lack of motivation either to use computers or to gain ICT skills, and line manager resistance to staff using computers or accessing ICT training in work time. Job function was the factor most associated with lack of access, with cleaning, catering and estates staff least likely to have access. However, there were also many examples of good practice to extend staff access, particularly with regard to ICT training. The research concludes that one of the main concerns for institutions is to ‘win the hearts and minds’ of non-desk staff and their managers. The development of an institutional communication strategy is identified as being of critical importance. Research limitations / implications: Provides a ‘snapshot’ of the prevailing situation at the point of data collection rather than a longitudinal insight into developments in access over time. Originality / value of the paper: The first comprehensive analysis of staff access to ICT in UK further and higher education. In addition to highlighting examples of good practice for dissemination across the sector, the research provides information about gaps in provision to inform the targeting of future initiatives

What aspects of an art therapy group aid recovery for people diagnosed with psychosis?

In the light of current UK national guidelines, this paper considers how outpatient art therapy groups can reverse the development of the pervasive effect of negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Five therapeutic aspects are identified that lead to improvement in the mental health and quality of life for group members. Theoretical understanding based on clinical experience from the 1980s and 1990s is revisited and presented again to reflect current research, understanding and scientific evidence from the neurosciences, in particular through the concept of mentalization.Key words: Schizophrenia, outpatient, mentalization, neuroscience, attachment theor

CTCF May Not Directly Regulate ERα mRNA Expression in the ER+ MCF7 Breast Cancer Cell Line

Introduction: CTCF is an evolutionally conserved 11-zinc finger protein factor involved in an array of processes whose deregulation could lead to cellular transformation. Through interactions with ERα binding regions and ERregulated genes, CTCF was shown to compartmentalize the cellular genome into domains. It also colocalized with ERα in MCF7 cells and had interactions with ERα during histone deacetylase recruitment and fork-head activity. A fast-running isoform was previously shown to be expressed in breast cancer tissue but not in normal breast tissue. It is not clear whether there is a regulatory relationship between CTCF and ERα in breast cancer. Aim: To determine whether CTCF expression regulated ERα expression in the ER+ MCF7 breast cancer cell line. Methods: MCF7 breast cancer cells were transfected with either CTCF expression vectors or siRNA against CTCF. Following CTCF over-expression and knock-down, changes in endogenous expression of ERα gene and protein expression were monitored by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (using MIQE guidelines) and western blot analysis respectively. Results: CTCF plasmid overexpression and siRNA knockdown was associated with cell rounding but with 96.4% and 95.7% cell viability respectively. Increase in CTCF mRNA on over-expression was associated with a rise in CTCF protein expression. siRNA knockdown of CTCF mRNA was accompanied by a corresponding decrease in CTCF protein expression. CTCF over-expression and knockdown appeared to inhibit the ability to detect ERα protein expression by western blotting. Neither the over-expression nor knockdown of CTCF altered ERα mRNA expression as detected by QPCR. Conclusion: Alterations in CTCF mRNA expression did not affect ERα gene expression in MCF7 cells suggesting that CTCF interactions with the estrogen receptor in breast cancer may not be mediated via direct regulation of ERα mRNA expression

Maternal iron status in early pregnancy and birth outcomes : insights from the Baby's Vascular health and Iron in Pregnancy study

Date of Acceptance: 16/03/2015 Acknowledgements N. A. A. was funded by a Wellcome Trust Research Training Fellowship (WT87789). H. J. M. and H. E. H. are supported by the Scottish Government’s Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services. N. A. B. S. is supported by Cerebra. The authors’ contributions are as follows: N. A. A. was responsible for organising the study conduct, data collection and database management, performed the statistical analysis, interpreted the results and drafted the paper. N. A. A., N. A. B. S., J. E. C., H. J. M. and D. C. G. contributed to the study concept and design, and interpretation of results. H. J. M. and H. E. H. analysed the laboratory samples. J. E. C. and D. C. G. provided advice on statistical strategy and analysis. All authors have fully participated in the reporting stage and have critically reviewed and approved the final draft of the paper. The authors declare no conflict of interestPeer reviewedPublisher PD

Analysis of competencies for effective virtual team leadership in building successful organisations

Purpose - Global competition and advances in technology have enhanced the growing trend of virtual teams in order to execute business strategies. Thus, understanding the competencies needed for virtual leadership effectiveness is essential and vital to organisational success. The purpose of this paper is to identify and analyse the required competencies for virtual team leadership and its effectiveness in an organisation. Design/methodology/approach - The study adopted case study methodology to undertake an exploratory study of a manufacturing organisation. Using a questionnaire that was designed following a focussed literature review to identify the specific virtual leadership competencies, structured interviews were conducted face-to-face with 14 respondents from two major virtual team groups. The interviews were designed to elucidate the opinions and perceptions of virtual team members with respect to selected characteristics of their virtual team leaders (VTLs). The responses obtained were analysed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. Findings - The study identified the competencies required for effective leadership in virtual teams in order to achieve the organisational project success. The performance of the two VTLs in the organisation was then assessed in the light of these identified competencies. The study also identified transformational leaders as important to be considered when selecting VTLs because they are known to achieve high-performing team. However, the study found that considering the virtual leadership competencies, the two VTLs were found to have not, on the whole, performed well because they are lacking in some of the leadership competencies required for effective leadership in a virtual team and this has led to their organisation not achieving the required success in virtual teams. Practical implications - The study has implications for organisations’ virtual team project leaders. The identification of specific leadership competencies for virtual team leadership will enable organisations to be more informed when looking for effective leaders in their virtual teams in order to achieve high-performing virtual teams, which will lead to organisational growth and success. The study is expected to enhance the success rate of any typical organisation using virtual teams. Originality/value - The study would be highly beneficial to both the potential and current stakeholder organisations considering virtual teams to execute business strategies. This study has also added to the body of knowledge by further exploring the leadership competencies needed for virtual teams

Shoot yield drives phosphorus use efficiency in Brassica oleracea and correlates with root architecture traits

The environmental and financial costs of using inorganic phosphate fertilizers to maintain crop yield and quality are high. Breeding crops that acquire and use phosphorus (P) more efficiently could reduce these costs. The variation in shoot P concentration (shoot-P) and various measures of P use efficiency (PUE) were quantified among 355 Brassica oleracea L. accessions, 74 current commercial cultivars, and 90 doubled haploid (DH) mapping lines from a reference genetic mapping population. Accessions were grown at two or more external P concentrations in glasshouse experiments; commercial and DH accessions were also grown in replicated field experiments. Within the substantial species-wide diversity observed for shoot-P and various measures of PUE in B. oleracea, current commercial cultivars have greater PUE than would be expected by chance. This may be a consequence of breeding for increased yield, which is a significant component of most measures of PUE, or early establishment. Root development and architecture correlate with PUE; in particular, lateral root number, length, and growth rate. Significant quantitative trait loci associated with shoot-P and PUE occur on chromosomes C3 and C7. These data provide information to initiate breeding programmes to improve PUE in B. oleracea

Multiple conceptions of success

The Aspiring Leaders Programme involves a partnership between University of Cumbria and Brathay Trust. Students study for a BA in Social Enterprise Leadership, and they receive residential leadership training and diverse work experience in social enterprises. The degree is taught through blended learning, including intensive “University Days” and Action Learning Sets. Course team meetings are attended by staff from the University and the Brathay Trust. At one such meeting, it was observed that students participating in an experiential learning exercise during a Brathay residential had measured their own success in terms of teamwork goals achieved and not in terms of task goals achieved. They felt they had done well through working together well even though they had not achieved the intended outcome. This led to a discussion amongst the course team about how to extend students' perceptions of success as the course progresses through levels 4, 5 and 6, and how this can be transferred between the experiential and academic aspects of the course. This presentation explores the links between experiential and traditional academic learning that emerge from this closely integrated blended learning programme. It draws on literature concerning perceptions of success in social enterprise (Parkinson and Howorth, 2008) and in the authors' home disciplines of Accounting (Green, 2012) and Information Systems (Cheng and Chen, 2015). It builds on work recently done by the authors (Ryder and Greenwood, 2015) by investigating the success of blended learning development projects. We conclude that experiential learning provides multiple dimensions of success and learning opportunities and that this is reminiscent of previous work done on stakeholders' perceptions of success (Greenwood, 2007), It also relates to discussions surrounding differences between intended and emergent learning outcomes. Through this work we see that academics need to articulate what they mean by success while recognising the value of multiple success dimensions to the various participants

PEER behavioural research: authors and users vis-à-vis journals and repositories. D4.2 final report.

The Behavioural research project is one of three independent research projects commissioned and managed by PEER as part of the PEER Observatory. The aim of the Behavioural research project was to address the role of stage-two manuscript repositories in the scholarly and scientific communication system by exploring perceptions, motivations and behaviours of authors and readers. The research was carried out between April 2009 and August 2011 by the Department of Information Science and LISU at Loughborough University, UK