Feminist pedagogy in action: reflections from the front line of feminist activism-the feminist classroom.

How far can feminist pedagogy facilitate a positive learning experience for the student? I explore this question by offering a critical reflection of teaching a Gender Studies module to two cohorts of students: part-time mature and full-time ‘traditional’ learners. I offer a candid exploration of my personal journey, exposing the strengths and sometimes contradictions found in feminist pedagogic principles. By documenting feminist pedagogy in action I offer a pragmatic approach to its application and refined understanding of it as a method of teaching while attending to feminist pedagogy's core values. My approach empowers the learner, at the same time it enables the tutor to cover module learning outcomes without compromising a feminist agenda. This appropriation is informed by a project designed to put feminist pedagogy (as an approach) and gender studies (as a subject) under critical scrutiny with a view to the refinement of pedagogic practice

Taking stock of arctic sea ice and climate

Abstract The relationship among the cause-and-effect of the Arctic atmosphere, sea ice, and ocean is discussed. The increased vulnerability of the Arctic system to anomalous atmospheric forcing can be argued from the perspective that recent ice loss is the result of a long-term preconditioning to thinner ice. Such consequences demonstrate the difficulties inherent in ascertaining how the atmospheric circulation responds to Arctic, and global, climate change. Later-forming sea ice also leads to less protection from the waves of fall storms, affecting coastal communities such as Kivalina and Shishmaref. The coming decades will provide new insights into the complexities of the Arctic climate system and how changes will affect the biological and human communities within and beyond its boundaries

Breastfeeding and timing of pubertal onset in girls: a multiethnic population-based prospective cohort study.

BackgroundEarly puberty is associated with higher risk of adverse health and behavioral outcomes throughout adolescence and adulthood. US girls are experiencing earlier puberty with substantial racial/ethnic differences. We examined the association between breastfeeding and pubertal timing to identify modifiable risk factors of early puberty and potential sources of racial/ethnic differences in the timing of pubertal development.MethodsA prospective cohort study of 3331 racially/ethnically diverse girls born at Kaiser Permanente Northern California (KPNC) between 2004 and 06. All data were obtained from KPNC electronic clinical and administrative datasets. Mother-reported duration of breastfeeding was obtained from questionnaires administered at each 'well-baby' check-up exam throughout the baby's first year and categorized as 'Not breastfed', 'Breastfed < 6 months', and 'Breastfed ≥ 6 months'. Pubertal development data used Tanner stages assessed by pediatricians during routine pediatric checkups starting at age 6. Pubertal onset was defined as transition from Tanner Stage 1 to Tanner Stage 2+ for breast (thelarche) and pubic hair (pubarche). Weibull regression models accommodating for left, right, and interval censoring were used in all analyses. Models were adjusted for maternal age, education, race/ethnicity, parity and prepubertal body mass index (BMI). We also examined race/ethnicity as a potential effect modifier of these associations.ResultsNot breastfeeding was associated with earlier onset of breast and pubic hair development compared to breastfeeding ≥6 months (adjusted hazard ratio [HR]: 1.25; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.07-1.46; HR: 1.24; 95% CI: 1.05-1.46, respectively). Breastfeeding for < 6 months was also associated with the risk of earlier pubic hair development (HR: 1.14; 95% CI: 1.00-1.30, compared to breastfeeding ≥6 months). Inclusion of girls' prepubertal BMI slightly attenuated the association between breastfeeding and timing of breast onset but remained significant. The association between not breastfeeding and early breast development may be stronger among African American girls (HR: 1.92; 95% CI: 1.01-3.66, no breastfeeding vs. ≥6 months) than other racial/ethnic groups.ConclusionsBreastfeeding is an independent predictor of pubertal onset in girls, and the strength of the association may vary by race/ethnicity. Providing breastfeeding support and lactation education for high risk mothers may help prevent earlier pubertal onset and promote positive health outcomes later in life

An Aging Society: Opportunity or Challenge?

macroeconomics, Aging Society

Moderating role of service innovation on the relationship between corporate reputation and performance of hotels in Kenya

The study aims to evaluate the moderating role of service innovation on the relationship between corporate reputation and the performance of hotels in Kenya. The study design used was cross-sectional descriptive utilizing the mixed approach. The target that served as the study population, was General Managers of all the 4-star hotels in Kenya. Primary data was collected by the use of a self-administered semi-structured questionnaire and secondary data from hotel records, journals, and government publications. Data analysis involved qualitative and quantitative techniques, analyses of variance (ANOVA), and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) which tested the hypothesized relationship in this study. Statistical software such as Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 21, MS-Excel for Windows 8, Analysis of Moment Structures version 17, and SmartPLS version 2.0 was used for analysis. The theoretical models and hypotheses were tested based on empirical data gathered from 43 General Managers. The study findings indicate that corporate reputation positively and significantly influences performance (C.R = 5.907 at 5% ?-level) and service innovation moderates (R2 change = 0.054) the relationship between corporate reputation and performance. The study results are meant to benefit hotel industry policymakers, academicians, and other opportunistic entrepreneurs. The recommendation is that the hotel industry should invest seriously in corporate reputation so as to influence customer purchase behavior and improved performance

Credibility of subgroup analyses by socioeconomic status in public health intervention evaluations:An underappreciated problem?

There is increasing interest amongst researchers and policy makers in identifying the effect of public health interventions on health inequalities by socioeconomic status (SES). This issue is typically addressed in evaluation studies through subgroup analyses, where researchers test whether the effect of an intervention differs according to the socioeconomic status of participants. The credibility of such analyses is therefore crucial when making judgements about how an intervention is likely to affect health inequalities, although this issue appears to be rarely considered within public health. The aim of this study was therefore to assess the credibility of subgroup analyses in published evaluations of public health interventions. An established set of 10 credibility criteria for subgroup analyses was applied to a purposively sampled set of 21 evaluation studies, the majority of which focussed on healthy eating interventions, which reported differential intervention effects by SES. While the majority of these studies were found to be otherwise of relatively high quality methodologically, only 8 of the 21 studies met at least 6 of the 10 credibility criteria for subgroup analysis. These findings suggest that the credibility of subgroup analyses conducted within evaluations of public health interventions’ impact on health inequalities may be an underappreciated problem. Keywords: Health inequalities, Health inequities, Equity and public health interventions, Policy impact by socioeconomic statu

Helminth Parasites of the Brown-Headed Cowbird, Molothrus Ater Ater, from Ohio

Author Institution: Department of Zoology, The Ohio State UniversityA total of 166 Brown-headed Cowbirds was examined for the occurrence of helminth parasites. Of these, 116 were collected on the campus of The Ohio State University, Franklin County, Ohio, from January 1964 through February 1965. The remainder of the birds were collected on South Bass Island, Ottawa County, Ohio, from July 1969 through July 1970. Twenty species of helminth parasites are recorded from these birds. Sixteen of these helminth species are new host records: the trematodes Conspicuum icteridorum, Lutztrema sp., Prosthogonimus macrorchis, Tanaisia zarudnyi, and Zonorchis alveyi; the cestode Orthoskrjabinia rostellata; the nematodes Capillaria caudinflata, C. ovopunctatum, C. tridens, Chandlerella quiscali, Diplotriaena bargusinica, Microtetrameres sp., Splendidofilaria algonquinensis, Syngamus trachea, and Tetrameres americana; and the acanthocephalan Plagiorhynchus formosus

Selective Targeting to Glioma with Nucleic Acid Aptamers

Malignant glioma is characterised by a rapid growth rate and high capacity for invasive infiltration to surrounding brain tissue; hence, diagnosis and treatment is difficult and patient survival is poor. Aptamers contribute a promising and unique technology for the in vitro imaging of live cells and tissues, with a potentially bright future in clinical diagnostics and therapeutics for malignant glioma. The binding selectivity, uptake capacity and binding target of two DNA aptamers, SA43 and SA44, were investigated in glioma cells and patient tissues. The binding assay showed that SA43 and SA44 bound with strong affinity (Kd, 21.56 ± 4.60 nM and Kd, 21.11 ± 3.30 nM respectively) to the target U87MG cells. Quantitative analysis by flow cytometry showed that the aptamers were able to actively internalise in U87MG and 1321N1 glioma cells compared to the non-cancerous and non-glioma cell types. Confocal microscopy confirmed staining in the cytoplasm, and co-localisation studies with endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus and lysosomal markers suggested internalisation and compartmentalisation within the endomembrane system. Both aptamers selectively bound to Ku 70 and Ku 80 DNA repair proteins as determined by aptoprecipitation (AP) followed by mass spectrometry analysis and confirmation by Western blot. In addition, aptohistochemical (AHC) staining on paraffin embedded, formalin fixed patient tissues revealed that the binding selectivity was significantly higher for SA43 aptamer in glioma tissues (grade I, II, III and IV) compared to the non-cancerous tissues, whereas SA44 did not show selectivity towards glioma tissues. The results indicate that SA43 aptamer can differentiate between glioma and non-cancerous cells and tissues and therefore, shows promise for histological diagnosis of glioma