528 research outputs found

    Historical perspectives on Asian economic growth and development

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    The papers featured in this special issue are based on presentations made at the Harvard–Hitotsubashi–Warwick Conference on "Economic Change Around the Indian Ocean in the Very Long Run", held at the University of Warwick in Venice, Palazzo Pesaro Papafava, 22–24 July 2008. The conference was originally conceived with countries around the Indian Ocean in mind, but soon expanded to include East Asia, and this wider geographical coverage is reflected in the papers included here. The conference was organised by Stephen Broadberry (Warwick), Kyoji Fukao (Hitotsubashi), Bishnupriya Gupta (Warwick) and Jeffrey Williamson (Harvard), and generously financed by the University of Warwick, Hitotsubashi University and the Economic History Society. A central aim of the organisers was to bring together researchers seeking to break free from the constraints of both the older Eurocentric and the nationalistic anti-colonialist literatures which have dominated much of the economic history of Asian countries. There was also a desire to encourage work which is quantitative and uses economic analysis, and which can be used to shed historical light on the current economic performance of the region

    Toxicities caused by head and neck cancer treatments and their influence on the development of malnutrition:Review of the literature

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    Malnutrition poses a significant problem for oncology patients, resulting in fatalities within this population. Patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) are at high risk, with up to 90% developing malnutrition. Common treatments used for HNC can often lead to adverse side effects, including oral health conditions, gastrointestinal upsets, and several metabolic changes. Consequently, treatments can cause inadequate nutritional intake, resulting in a reduction in energy consumption, and alterations in energy utilization, contributing to the development of malnutrition. Furthermore, the presence of these treatment toxicities, and the related malnutrition can lead to reduced quality of life, weight loss, and psychological distress. There are interventions available (nutritional, medicinal, and physical therapies) that have demonstrated potential effectiveness in reducing the severity of symptomatic toxicities, reducing the risk of malnutrition, and improving survival outcomes of patients with HNC. Based on the findings of this review, there is an urgent need for the implementation or continuation of multi-disciplinary strategies, as well as updated and improved guidelines to assist in the prevention and treatment of malnutrition caused by treatment-related toxicities in patients with HNC

    Photographic Assessment of Change in Trichotillomania: Psychometric Properties and Variables Influencing Interpretation

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    Although photographic assessment has been found to be reliable in assessing hair loss in Trichotillomania, the validity of this method is unclear, particularly for gauging progress in treatment. The current study evaluated the psychometric properties of photographic assessment of change in Trichotillomania. Photographs showing hair loss of adults with Trichotillomania were taken before and after participating in a clinical trial for the condition. Undergraduate college students (N = 211) rated treatment response according to the photos, and additional archival data on hair pulling severity and psychosocial health were retrieved from the clinical trial. Photographic assessment of change was found to possess fair reliability (ICC = 0.53), acceptable criterion validity (r = 0.51), good concurrent validity (r = 0.30–0.36), and excellent incremental validity (ΔR2 = 8.67, p \u3c 0.01). In addition, photographic measures were significantly correlated with change in quality of life (r = 0.42), and thus could be considered an index of the social validity of Trichotillomania treatment. Gender of the photo rater and pulling topography affected the criterion validity of photographic assessment (partial η2 = 0.05–0.11). Recommendations for improving photographic assessment and future directions for hair pulling research are discussed

    Poster Session

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    Video provided is of MacKenzie Paul\u27s presentation. Abstracts Humanities Emma Beeler, Mississippi University for Women Adultery and Fidelity in the Lais of Marie de France Using both literary and historical analysis, I will examine contrasting depictions of adultery and fidelity within the lais written by 12th-century poet Marie de France. A lai is a type of narrative poem, ranging in length from 118 to 1184 lines. Many of Marie de France’s lais follow the literary trope known as courtly love; however, the reader is encouraged to sympathize with different characters depending on the lai. In some lais, the reader is encouraged to sympathize with the adulterous spouse, and in others, with the faithful spouse. To understand these different depictions, I will consider Medieval marriage law, church doctrine, and social factors, as well as literary aspects of the lais. Social Sciences Maddison Caldwell, Northeast Mississippi Community College Parenting Styles: Effects on Lifelong Growth This project will examine parenting styles and how each can affect lifelong development. The parenting styles authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and uninvolved will be explored. This project will require extensive analysis through different studies and scholarly articles. Parenting styles affect a child’s behavior, social competence, personality, well-being, and career choices. A parent’s choice of a parenting style affects their child their whole entire life. The authoritative parenting style was found to be the most beneficial style that can be used by a parent, while the authoritarian style was prone to cause conflict within the family. When the permissive parenting style is used, children were found to not set boundaries for themselves. Lasty, the uninvolved parenting styles causes relationship difficulties the child inhibits. I will also include a graph to show and explain how the different styles affect different aspects of life. This project clearly explains the four parenting styles and how they affect lifelong development throughout a child’s life. MacKenzie Paul, Mississippi State University To Sweeten or Not to Sweeten: The Unique Impact of Emotional Support and Fatalism on Sugar Consumption Among Southeastern Native Americans In 2020, 14.8% of Mississippi adults and 12.6% of Louisiana adults reported having diabetes, as compared to the national average of 10.8%. Furthermore, Native Americans of Mississippi and Louisiana experience disproportionately higher diabetes prevalence at 38% and 34% respectively. Research has shown that excessive sugar consumption is associated with an increased risk of developing type-2 diabetes. Psychosocial variables such as chronic disease fatalism and emotional support may also influence diabetes self-care behaviors including food consumption patterns like sugar intake. Therefore, the objective of this study is to examine the impact of emotional support and fatalism on sugar consumption among Southeastern Native Americans. The Mississippi INBRE Telenutrition Center Community Health Assessment Survey was utilized to survey 368 adults from Mississippi and Louisiana. Eighty-one of the participants, who self-identified as Native American, were included in the study. A hierarchal linear regression analysis showed that increased emotional support was significantly related with reduced sugar consumption (β = -0.307, p = 0.004), and increased fatalism was significantly associated with elevated sugar consumption (β = 0.286, p = 0.007). More research is necessary to substantiate this relationship among a broader Southeastern Native American population and identify potential implications for diabetes management in this disparate group. STEM Shirli Salihaj, Mississippi University for Women Surface Reconstruction via the Curvature Interpolation Method The surface reconstruction for scattered data becomes a problem as the number of sample points increases to construct a continuous function that satisfies given conditions in three dimensions (3D). However, it is known that this problem does not have a definite solution and therefore requires numerical approximations. This project studies the Curvature Interpolation Method with Iterative Refinement (IR-CIM), an innovative algorithm that produces smooth and reliable surfaces from 3D point cloud data. I use pre-collected data by Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology and MATLAB to perform digital image processing. I first study interpolation on 2D data and then practice with 3D data sets with simple interpolation methods to practice the implementation of IR-CIM for LiDAR data. The research objective is to compare the efficiency and accuracy of the IR-CIM with the inverse distance weighting method. Furthermore, I will verify that the IR-CIM outperforms the inverse distance weighting method and show that it is a good alternative to replace the outdated algorithm when processing LiDAR data. Sara Lynn Sligh, Mississippi University for Women Effects of Chloride Ion Channel Activators on CFTR Expression The purpose of this research is to determine the effects of newly synthesized compounds, which have shown the ability to function as chloride ion channel activators, on the expression of Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane-conductance Regulator (CFTR), a protein found within Cystic Fibrosis Bronchial Epithelial (CFBE) cells. Mutations in the CFTR protein cause the genetic disease Cystic Fibrosis (CF). To conduct this research, a tissue culture utilizing three main cell lines is being performed. The three main cell lines are CFBE-wild type, CFBE-ΔF508, and CFBE-41ø. CFBE-wildtype contains the normal, functional CFTR protein. CFBE-ΔF508 contains the nonfunctional CFTR protein as well as the mutation that is responsible for over 70% of CF cases. CFBE-41ø is the parental cell line and will function as a negative control. The main method used to determine the effects of the new compounds is Immunofluorescence Cytochemistry. Through this method, images are generated that identify the location of CFTR within the cell while maintaining the cell’s integrity. These experiments are being run weekly to generate data via images captured by an immunofluorescent microscope. Stephen Trest, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College The Bonnet Carre Spillway and Its Effects on South Mississippi\u27s Economy The Bonnet Carre Spillway is a flood control system located in Saint Charles Parish, Louisiana. In recent years, this spillway has been opened longer and more often than it had in the past. As a result, there has been a much larger quantity of fresh water in the Mississippi Sound, and this has killed a large quantity of marine life. This seriously impacts our local fishing economy. Many fishers have had to take entire seasons off because it would not be profitable to operate in these conditions. On top of the effects on fishing, the excess fresh water contributes to the flesh-eating bacteria outbreak which has plagued our beaches for years. 2019 was the first time in history that the Bonnet Carre was opened twice in one year, and it was also a particularly bad year for flesh-eating bacteria on our beaches; tourism is a major industry on the coast, and the beach is the main reason for that. We need a healthy Mississippi Sound for our coastal economy to thrive, and the repeated flooding of fresh water through the Bonnet Carre is negatively affecting that. Since flooding New Orleans is not an option, I will go over the other possible solution: restoring the Mississippi River Delta

    Technology, organisation and productivity performance in services : lessons from Britain and the United States since 1870

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    This paper documents the comparative productivity performance of the United States and Britain since 1870, showing the importance of developments in services. We identify the transition in market services from customised, low-volume, high-margin business organised on a network basis to standardised, high-volume, low-margin business with hierarchical management, as a key factor. A model of the interaction between technology, organisation and economic performance is then provided, focusing on the transition from networks to hierarchies. Four general lessons are drawn: (1) developments in services must be analysed if the major changes in comparative productivity performance among nations are to be understood fully; (2) different technologies and organisational forms can co-exist efficiently; (3) technological change can cause difficulties of adjustment in technology-using sectors if it is not suited to the social capabilities of the society; (4) reversal of technological trends can lead to reversal of comparative productivity performance

    Sexed up: theorizing the sexualization of culture

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    This paper reviews and examines emerging academic approaches to the study of ‘sexualized culture’; an examination made necessary by contemporary preoccupations with sexual values, practices and identities, the emergence of new forms of sexual experience and the apparent breakdown of rules, categories and regulations designed to keep the obscene at bay. The paper maps out some key themes and preoccupations in recent academic writing on sex and sexuality, especially those relating to the contemporary or emerging characteristics of sexual discourse. The key issues of pornographication and democratization, taste formations, postmodern sex and intimacy, and sexual citizenship are explored in detail. </p

    Rugby Fans in Training New Zealand (RUFIT-NZ): a pilot randomized controlled trial of a healthy lifestyle program for overweight men delivered through professional rugby clubs in New Zealand

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    Background Healthy lifestyle programs that are designed specifically to appeal to and support men to improve lifestyle behaviors and lose weight are needed. The Rugby Fans in Training-New Zealand (RUFIT-NZ) program is delivered by professional rugby clubs and inspired by the successful Football Fans In Training program (FFIT), a gender sensitized weight loss program for obese middle-aged men delivered by professional football clubs in Scotland. RUFIT-NZ required development and evaluation for feasibility. Methods To develop the intervention we reviewed content from the FFIT program and evidence-based physical activity, dietary and weight management guidelines, and undertook a series of focus groups and key informant interviews. We then evaluated the feasibility of the intervention in a two-arm, parallel, pilot randomized controlled trial in New Zealand. Ninety-six participants were randomized to either the 12-week RUFIT-NZ intervention (N = 49) or a control group (N = 47). The intervention was delivered through professional rugby clubs and involved physical activity training and classroom sessions on healthy lifestyle behaviors. Pilot trial outcomes included body weight, heart rate, blood pressure, cardiorespiratory fitness, and lifestyle behaviors. Feasibility was assessed by recruitment and retention rates, and acceptability of the intervention. Results At 12 weeks the mean difference in body weight was 2.5 kg (95% CI -0.4 to 5.4), which favored the intervention. Statistically significant differences in favor of the intervention group were also observed for waist circumference, resting heart rate, diastolic blood pressure, cardiorespiratory fitness, and the proportion of participants that were adherent to 3 or more healthy lifestyle behaviors. The intervention was considered feasible to test in a full trial given the good recruitment and retention rates, and positive feedback from participants. Conclusions A pilot study of a healthy lifestyle intervention delivered via professional rugby clubs in New Zealand demonstrated positive effects on weight and physiological outcomes, as well as adherence to lifestyle behaviors. Feasibility issues in terms of recruitment, retention, and participant acceptability were assessed and findings will be used to inform the design of a definitive trial. Trial registration The trial was prospectively registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12616000137493, 05/12/2016
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