Octavia Minor and the Transition from Republic to Empire

As a good girl, Octavia Minor, older sister to Octavian née Augustus, has been understudied as a historical figure of the Late Republic. Her portrayal as a good exempla in the written classical sources obscures Octavia\u27s agency. This thesis seeks to divest Octavia of her good girl reputation, as has been done by other scholars for many bad girls of antiquity, such as Cleopatra and Livia. Removing this good stereotype will allow for an examination of Octavia\u27s role in transforming the moral example of a Roman woman from the Republic to the Empire. By exposing the tendency toward stereotyping inherent within the written record through attentive handling of androcentric classical sources, this study will carefully seek to rehabilitate Octavia as an astute, rather than good woman. Though large portions of Octavia\u27s life are not examined by the classical sources, this thesis will turn to the people with whom Octavia was connected, her mother, step-father, husbands, and brother, as well as her female contemporaries with whom she was compared, Fulvia and Cleopatra, in an effort to more fully examine the entirety of Octavia\u27s life. While drawing upon her lived experiences and agency within the written record, the material culture associated with Octavia will also be studied. An examination of the innovative coins which displayed Octavia\u27s portrait as the first mortal Roman woman, the busts and cameos which displayed her beauty and goodness, and the portico which she built in Rome all contribute to understanding Octavia as a woman who was not merely good, but was instead well-versed in her understanding of Roman traditional values and influential in transforming what it meant to be a Roman matrona under the new, innovative Roman state her brother was constructing. Octavia\u27s exempla would serve as the prototype to emulate for Livia and others, including Octavia\u27s own female descendants, as Roman empress

Father involvement in the breastfeeding process : determining contributing aspects

The importance of father involvement in the young family is increasingly evident. This research was conducted using the theory of planned behaviour to understand important aspects contributing to father invo lvement in the breastfeeding process. Eighty mothers and 65 fathers of one-year-old children completed a questionnaire regarding father involvement (FI) in breastfeeding. Measures included attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behaviour control regarding FI and the extent to which fathers demonstrated involvement by advocating for and affIrming breastfeeding, being present during breastfeeding, providing household help, and being responsive to their partners' needs. Results suggest that mothers and fathers experience FI differently. Mothers' perceptions are motivated by intrinsic attitudinal considerations, whereas fathers' involvement is primarily motivated by the opinions of others. Interventions should focus on increasing fathers' perception of societal approval through approaches such as peer-led groups, and increasing mothers' approval through information of the value of fathers' involvement in the breastfeeding process

Study protocol: computerised cognitive testing in a cohort of people with frontotemporal dementia

Introduction: The term frontotemporal dementia (FTD) refers to a heterogeneous group of neurodegenerative disorders affecting the frontal and temporal lobes. Cognitively, impairment of executive function and social cognition predominates across the FTD spectrum, although other domains can be affected. Traditionally, cognition is tested through standard ‘pen and paper’ tasks in FTD. However, recent attempts have been made across other neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease to develop computerised batteries that allow more accurate and sensitive detection of cognitive impairment. / Methods and analysis: This paper describes the development of a novel battery of tests for a tablet computer, particularly focused on FTD. It consists of 12 different tasks which aim to tap into information processing speed, various aspects of executive function, social cognition, semantic knowledge, calculation and visuospatial skills. Future studies will focus on validating the battery in a healthy control cohort, comparing it against a standard ‘pen and paper’ psychometric battery, and finally testing it within an FTD cohort, including those with genetic forms of FTD where we will be able to assess its ability to detect very early cognitive deficits prior to the onset of symptoms. / Ethics and dissemination: Normative data will be produced in the initial validation study (approved by the UCL Ethics Committee, project ID 17691/002) and will be made available online

A Spirit of Adventure in Retirement: Japanese Baby Boomers and the Ethos of Interdependence

Self-reliance has arisen as a key ethic in relation to older persons in Japan. One part of a larger social trend affecting mature societies around the world is the rising emphasis on elders overcoming dependence in favor of a new ethic of independence. This analysis of older persons in Japan opens a window into the gender dynamics of older-person households, and into the discourses about the lack of an independent autonomous identity in old age aside from that in the workplace. Drawing on fieldwork with retirees, I illuminate retired couples’ experiences of and attitudes about retirement, considering the interpersonal dimensions of interdependence and the ways the ethos of self-reliance influences retirees’ lives. In particular, I analyse how the men seek to embody interdependence in relationships with their wives. How do they adjust in relation to their wives’ expectations, and how do they—and their identities—change after they leave the workforce? Central to this process is an expansion in men’s acts of thoughtfulness in relation to their wives

Parametric mapping of contrasted ovarian transvaginal sonography.

The purpose of this study was to assess the accuracy of parametric analysis of transvaginal contrast-enhanced ultrasound (TV-CEUS) for distinguishing benign versus malignant ovarian masses. A total of 48 ovarian masses (37 benign and 11 borderline/malignant) were examined with TV-CEUS (Definity; Lantheus, North Billerica, MA; Philips iU22; Philips Medical Systems, Bothell, WA). Parametric images were created offline with a quantification software (Bracco Suisse SA, Geneva, Switzerland) with map color scales adjusted such that abnormal hemodynamics were represented by the color red and the presence of any red color could be used to differentiate benign and malignant tumors. Using these map color scales, low values of the perfusion parameter were coded in blue, and intermediate values of the perfusion parameter were coded in yellow. Additionally, for each individual color (red, blue, or yellow), a darker shade of that color indicated a higher intensity value. Our study found that the parametric mapping method was considerably more sensitive than standard region of interest (ROI) analysis for the detection of malignant tumors but was also less specific than standard ROI analysis. Parametric mapping allows for stricter cutoff criteria, as hemodynamics are visualized on a finer scale than ROI analyses, and as such, parametric maps are a useful addition to TV-CEUS analysis by allowing ROIs to be limited to areas of the highest malignant potential

Governance of Aquatic Systems: What Attributes and Practices Promote Resilience?

Aquatic environments embody the characteristics of complex social-ecological systems and aspressures on them intensify so does concern about their resilience. Resilience research has advanced the conceptual understanding of how aquatic systems function and underscored the needfor an adaptive approach to management. More recently, a growing emphasis has been placed onresilience concepts in relation to water governance and thereby the broader social, political, andeconomic contexts in which aquatic systems are embedded. Using a two round online Delphisurvey of global experts and water governance, this study identifies governance attributes that supportspecified and general resilience in aquatic systems, and describes practices or activities that enhancegovernance ability to respond to shocks and disturbances. The results of the Delphi study offera prioritized list of attributes of governance for aquatic system governance resilience, includingbeing adaptive, polycentric, inclusive and maintaining strong leadership. Similar to the attributesdescribed in the existing literature on resilience and water governance, those identified through theDelphi remain somewhat abstract. This research highlights the need for future studies exploringhow these concepts can be applied in practice and the extent to which they can be traded off

Resilience in a Watershed Governance Context: A Primer

Watersheds are complex systems involving social, economic, and ecological dimensions that are constantly interacting and influencing each other, and governance of these systems involve a large and diverse cast of actors that add to the complexity and difficulty in deciding what is best for the watershed and people. Resilience thinking offers a way to understand and navigate the uncertainty, dynamics and complexity of watershed governance. This primer describes key ideas associated with resilience: more inclusive participation; building a shared understanding; inclusion of ecosystem services and functions in long-term planning; strong leadership; institutional and decision making flexibility; and, a decentralized system. This primer is an initial effort to translate the scholarly understanding of these key ideas and initiate a dialogue about their application in the context of watershed governance.Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada through the Water Economicsw, Policy and Governance Network Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Insight Development Gran

EC-OPRF: Oblivious Pseudorandom Functions using Elliptic Curves

We introduce a secure elliptic curve oblivious pseudorandom function (EC-OPRF) which operates by hashing strings onto an elliptic curve to provide a simple and efficient mechanism for computing an oblivious pseudorandom function (OPRF). The EC-OPRF protocol enables a semi-trusted server to receive a set of cryptographically masked elliptic curve points from a client, secure those points with a private key, and return the resulting set to the client for unmasking. We also introduce extensions and generalizations to this scheme, including a novel mechanism that provides forward secrecy, and discuss the security and computation complexity for each variant. Benchmark tests for the implementations of the EC-OPRF protocol and one of its variants are provided, along with test vectors for the original protocol