Myths About the Powerless: Contesting Social Inequalities

This collection examines the realities of social inequality, providing critical analyses of contemporary issues at the center of national debate homelessness, the underclass, poverty, welfare, unemployment, health and mental health care, and gender and intercultural relations. A scholar and life-long activist, William Ryan\u27s notions of \u27blaming the victim\u27 and \u27fair shares vs. fair play\u27 provide potent jumping-off points for the contributors\u27 insights into the struggle for equality and social justice in the 1990s. Their call to unmask the underlying assumptions that sustain inequality offers a compelling challenge to the neoconservative strategy that dominates public debate and legislative agendas.https://digitalcommons.newhaven.edu/psychology-books/1001/thumbnail.jp

Expression of Slug Is Regulated by c-Myb and Is Required for Invasion and Bone Marrow Homing of Cancer Cells of Different Origin*

In metastatic cancer cells, the process of invasion is regulated by several transcription factors that induce changes required for migration and resistance to apoptosis. Slug (SNAI2, Snail2) is involved in epithelial mesenchymal transition in physiological and in pathological contexts. We show here that in embryonic kidney, colon carcinoma, chronic myeloid leukemia-blast crisis, and in neuroblastoma cells, expression of Slug is transcriptionally regulated by c-Myb via Myb binding sites in the 5′-flanking region and in the first intron of the slug gene. In embryonic kidney and neuroblastoma cells, c-Myb induced vimentin, fibronectin, and N-cadherin expression and membrane ruffling via actin polymerization consistent with the acquisition of a mesenchymal-like phenotype. Furthermore, down-regulation of endogenous c-Myb levels in colon carcinoma cells led to increased expression of E-cadherin and reduced levels of vimentin. Some of these changes are predominantly Slug-dependent as Slug silencing via RNA interference (RNAi) reverts the cells to a quasi-parental condition. Changes in gene expression and morphology induced by c-Myb-activated Slug correlated with increased ability to migrate (embryonic kidney) and to invade through a Matrigel membrane (embryonic kidney, colon carcinoma, neuroblastoma). c-Myb-dependent Slug expression was also essential for the homing of chronic myeloid leukemia K562 cells to the bone marrow. In summary, we show here that the proto-oncogene c-Myb controls Slug transcription in tumor cells of different origin. Such a regulatory pathway contributes to the acquisition of invasive properties that are important for the metastatic process

Designing Distributed Ledger Technologies for Social Change

Distributed ledger technologies (DLTs) have been celebrated for promoting transparency, trust, and efficiency in several domains. However, recent research has also pointed out the potential of these technologies to increase power asymmetries and deepen social inequality. In this paper, we contribute to this discussion by reporting on a collective effort of academics, development partners, local authorities, businesses, and farming groups to look at the potential of DLTs, particularly Blockchains, to support socio-economic development in rural communities in the Caribbean. We present a series of design concepts resulting from this effort and reflect on a method to facilitate stakeholders' experience of possible implementations and enable them to voice concerns, preferences, and expectations. Results from workshops with different groups of stakeholders contribute insights into opportunities and limitations of these applications to enable social development and to level the playing field in agricultural exchanges in developing countries