Our Mothers Have Spoken: Synthesizing Old and New Forms of Women’s Political Authority in Liberia

This paper argues that the 2005 election of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to the Liberian presidency is best understood in the historical and cultural context of pre-war authority-bearing positions available to women, rather than as an outcome of the Liberian civil war itself. Against a literature that tends to view “traditional” African societies as hostile to both democracy and women’s rights, I contend that gender, conflict, and democracy are inter-twined in more complex relationships. Post-conflict societies such as Liberia are interesting not only as sites of intervention by international organizations seeking to capitalize on the “window of opportunity” available to re-make gender relations, but as places where truly innovative discourses of women’s political participation are likely to emerge

The Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid Expansion and Food Insecurity Rates

Many Americans face difficult financial decisions, often regarding the allocation of limited resources. Household resources may be split among the costs of food, clothing, housing, transportation, childcare, utilities, and health care. For some households, this allocation may present a challenge to purchasing sufficient food, leading to food insecurity. Defined by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) as “a household-level economic and social condition of limited or uncertain access to adequate food” (2017), food insecurity may decrease when other financial-related aspects of life improve. An improvement in access to affordable health care, as seen through the recent Medicaid expansion under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), may lead to a reduction in food insecurity

Microarray analysis of spring barley cultivars displaying differing sensitivity to physiological leaf spot (PLS)

peer-reviewedPhysiological leaf spot (PLS) is a disorder of spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), which has become more pronounced in recent years. The initial symptoms are small chlorotic/brown spots on the upper four leaves, which may develop into necrotic lesions with an irregular shape. As PLS occurs on leaves that are directly exposed to sunlight, it is thought that high light stress could be a trigger for the condition. This study concentrates on two cultivars, Cooper and Crusader, which display differential sensitivity to PLS. Biochemical measurements and enzyme assays revealed substantial difference in levels of ascorbate, type III peroxidases, and superoxide dismutase between the chosen cultivars during the 2003 growing season. A global gene expression study, using these field samples, was performed by microarray analysis. This supported the biochemical findings and highlighted additional sets of genes differentially expressed between the cultivars. Transcripts of particular interest, which appeared, included calcium signalling genes, cold-responsive genes and those involved in the assembly of Photosystem I. We conclude that susceptibility to PLS is related to levels of expression of genes with a role in countering the effects of oxidative stress.Teagasc Walsh Fellowship Programm

A Comparison of Formal Features of Written Language of Learning Disabled, Low-Achieving and Achieving Secondary Students

This research was published by the KU Center for Research on Learning, formerly known as the University of Kansas Institute for Research in Learning Disabilities.The written language characteristics of 26 learning disabled (LD), 26 low-achieving (LA) and 26 achieving (ACH) students in grades 7 through 10 were measured using paragraph-writing and topic-sentence tasks. findings indicated that only spelling discriminates LD--students from the pool of low-achieving students demonstrating average intellectual functioning. Results further disclosed that LD students differ from achieving students on four formal features of written language

The Influence of Specific Physical Features on Leisure Time Patterns

Modern societies have commonly been defined by their technological advancements. These advancements have been blamed for the vice as well as the virtues that are exhibited in society. Indeed these advancements have changed life styles, modes of interaction, and patterns of behavior. As a corollary to this development, leisure patterns have also changed; not only in time allotted, but in terms of financial resources available, behavior exhibited, and values defined. Individuals perceive leisure as part of the day’s events rather than as time left over