Gendered Discourse in the Political Behavior of Adolescents

The roots of adult civic and political participation originate in pre-adult experiences (Verba et al. 1995) and high school extracurricular activities offer students opportunities to develop interpersonal and leadership skills. In this research, we ask whether adolescents also learn gendered norms of political discourse through extracurricular activities. This project assessed gender differences in participation at the 1999 Model United Nations of the Southwest (MUNSW) at the University of Oklahoma. Important differences in participation were observed in the number and character of speaking turns taken by male and female delegates. We find that contextual factors, such as the sex of the committee chair, the issue areas addressed by the committee, and the timing of the session in the conference significantly influence who participates in the discourse, but the percentage of female participants surprisingly does not. The character of the political discourse suggests norms dominated by masculinity.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

Public appraisal of government efforts and participation intent in medico-ethical policymaking in Japan: a large scale national survey concerning brain death and organ transplant

BACKGROUND: Public satisfaction with policy process influences the legitimacy and acceptance of policies, and conditions the future political process, especially when contending ethical value judgments are involved. On the other hand, public involvement is required if effective policy is to be developed and accepted. METHODS: Using the data from a large-scale national opinion survey, this study evaluates public appraisal of past government efforts to legalize organ transplant from brain-dead bodies in Japan, and examines the public's intent to participate in future policy. RESULTS: A relatively large percentage of people became aware of the issue when government actions were initiated, and many increasingly formed their own opinions on the policy in question. However, a significant number (43.3%) remained unaware of any legislative efforts, and only 26.3% of those who were aware provided positive appraisals of the policymaking process. Furthermore, a majority of respondents (61.8%) indicated unwillingness to participate in future policy discussions of bioethical issues. Multivariate analysis revealed the following factors are associated with positive appraisals of policy development: greater age; earlier opinion formation; and familiarity with donor cards. Factors associated with likelihood of future participation in policy discussion include younger age, earlier attention to the issue, and knowledge of past government efforts. Those unwilling to participate cited as their reasons that experts are more knowledgeable and that the issues are too complex. CONCLUSIONS: Results of an opinion survey in Japan were presented, and a set of factors statistically associated with them were discussed. Further efforts to improve policy making process on bioethical issues are desirable

Female Representation but Male Rule? Party Competition and the Political Glass Ceiling

A large literature has studied the context that affects womens numerical representation, but few have moved beyond numbers to study the drivers of a gender gap in political influence among elected politicians. Using panel data for the careers of 35.000 Swedish municipal politicians over six election cycles we first document the said gender gap. Women are substantially less likely to be re-elected for office, which is the most important pre-condition for obtaining influential appointments. Turing to the determinants we find that supply factors, primarily family responsibilities, explain some of this gap. Meanwhile, demand factors such as experience, age, education and income do not. Finding that competition between political parties closes the gap, we argue that a negative bias against women among party selectors thrives in contexts where meritocracy is not enforced. Positive correlations between competition and measures of competence for elected politicians of both genders further support this conclusion

An Investigation of the Self-Perceived Principal Leadership Styles in an Era of Accountability

The purpose of this descriptive, quantitative, non-experimental, cross-sectional study was to determine the self-perceived leadership style of principals in an era of accountability. The research instrument was the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire with added demographic questions. In addition to the determination of the self-perceived principal leadership style, the intention of this study was to determine the possible relationship of demographic variables such as principal gender, experience, ethnicity, school type (elementary, middle school, and high school), school grade, and school socioeconomic status determined by Title I on leadership styles. The participants of the study were principals from three large school districts in the state of Florida. The dependent variable was the principal leadership style categorized on the Multi-Factor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) as transactional, transformational, or laissez-faire. The MLQ also determined the use of behaviors categorized as laissez-faire, authoritative, or participative. The independent variables were the demographic variables, principal gender, ethnicity, years of experience as a school principal, school type (elementary, middle, and high school), school grade, and school socioeconomic status defined by Title I. The data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and a series of Factorial ANOVAs to examine the research questions. The results found moderate differences among the demographic variables gender, ethnicity, school level, SES, and change in school grade. No differences were found between leadership styles and the years of experience for principals. The findings of the study may have significance for principals of elementary, middle, and high schools in the identification of different leadership approaches and styles in an era of accountability. The findings of the study may also provide a benefit for principals of schools examining alternative leadership methods to motivate teachers and students to improve academic outcomes

Cultures in the laboratory: mapping similarities and differences between Māori and non-Māori in engaging with gene-editing technologies in Aotearoa, New Zealand

AbstractPublic engagement on rapidly advancing gene-editing technologies requires attention not merely to science and economics, but also to culture. In focusing on the similarities and differences between Indigenous and non-Indigenous perspectives on new and emerging genetic technologies, this article reports on a national survey in Aotearoa New Zealand among a stratified random sample of an equal number of Māori and non-Māori participants. Identifying approaches to the experimentation, use, and potential commercialization of genetic technologies, the article moves along the continuum of nuanced cultural insights into gene editing for purposes ranging from human medical treatments and food production to conservation of native species of plants and animals and pest eradication. The development of typologies using K-means cluster analysis reveals the public’s complex responses to genetic modification as well as gene editing. The article signals how recognizing a diversity of values on gene-editing technologies can help shape a robust policy design on the use and regulation of gene technologies in a variety of sectors and contexts.</jats:p

The NRF2-Dependent Transcriptional Regulation of Antioxidant Defense Pathways: Relevance for Cell Type-Specific Vulnerability to Neurodegeneration and Therapeutic Intervention

Oxidative stress has been implicated in the etiology and pathobiology of various neurodegenerative diseases. At baseline, the cells of the nervous system have the capability to regulate the genes for antioxidant defenses by engaging nuclear factor erythroid 2 (NFE2/NRF)-dependent transcriptional mechanisms, and a number of strategies have been proposed to activate these pathways to promote neuroprotection. Here, we briefly review the biology of the transcription factors of the NFE2/NRF family in the brain and provide evidence for the differential cellular localization of NFE2/NRF family members in the cells of the nervous system. We then discuss these findings in the context of the oxidative stress observed in two neurodegenerative diseases, Parkinson’s disease (PD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and present current strategies for activating NFE2/NRF-dependent transcription. Based on the expression of the NFE2/NRF family members in restricted populations of neurons and glia, we propose that, when designing strategies to engage these pathways for neuroprotection, the relative contributions of neuronal and non-neuronal cell types to the overall oxidative state of tissue should be considered, as well as the cell types which have the greatest intrinsic capacity for producing antioxidant enzymes.</jats:p

The NRF2-Dependent Transcriptional Regulation of Antioxidant Defense Pathways: Relevance for Cell Type-Specific Vulnerability to Neurodegeneration and Therapeutic Intervention

Oxidative stress has been implicated in the etiology and pathobiology of various neurodegenerative diseases. At baseline, the cells of the nervous system have the capability to regulate the genes for antioxidant defenses by engaging nuclear factor erythroid 2 (NFE2/NRF)-dependent transcriptional mechanisms, and a number of strategies have been proposed to activate these pathways to promote neuroprotection. Here, we briefly review the biology of the transcription factors of the NFE2/NRF family in the brain and provide evidence for the differential cellular localization of NFE2/NRF family members in the cells of the nervous system. We then discuss these findings in the context of the oxidative stress observed in two neurodegenerative diseases, Parkinson&rsquo;s disease (PD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and present current strategies for activating NFE2/NRF-dependent transcription. Based on the expression of the NFE2/NRF family members in restricted populations of neurons and glia, we propose that, when designing strategies to engage these pathways for neuroprotection, the relative contributions of neuronal and non-neuronal cell types to the overall oxidative state of tissue should be considered, as well as the cell types which have the greatest intrinsic capacity for producing antioxidant enzymes