Is Liberalism Disingenuous? Truth and Lies in Political Liberalism

Rawlsian political liberalism famously requires a prohibition on truth. This has led to the charge that liberalism embraces non-cognitivism, according to which political claims have the moral status of emotions or expressions of preference. This result would render liberalism a non-starter for liberatory politics, a conclusion that political liberals themselves disavow. This conflict between what liberalism claims and what liberalism does has led critics to charge that the theory is disingenuous and functions as political ideology. In this paper, I explore one way that this charge unfolds: critics charge that liberalism utilizes an individualistic and identity-insensitive social ontology, which in turn yields epistemic deficiencies that render it incapable of detecting oppression. The theory’s claim to freestandingness then shields it from necessary critique. I argue that this objection relies on constructing a conflict between liberalism’s professed non-cognitivism and its actual cognitivist commitments. By demonstrating that Rawlsian political liberalism explicitly endorses substantive moral truths, and that the method of avoidance applies only to public justification for coercive state action, I show that the theory is openly and foundationally cognitivist, and thus that the charge of disingenuousness does not stick

The application development process: What role does it play in the success of an application for the user developer?

End user development of applications forms a significant part of organisational systems development. This study investigates the role that developing an application plays in the eventual success of the application for the user developer. The results of this study suggest that the process of developing an application not only predisposes an end user developer to be more satisfied with the application than they would be if it were developed by another end user, but also leads them to perform better with it. Thus the results of the study highlight the contribution of the process of application development to application success

The re-framing of practice: writing anecdotes as a tool for critical reflection

A person has observed a stained glass window from the road many times and marvelled at its beauty. One day an opportunity arises whereby that person can enter the building to view the window from the inside. The initial perceptions are now intensified, expanded and deepened as the detail is viewed, appreciated and understood. How has the ‘outside’ perception changed now that the inside has been seen? This research is about how beginning and experienced teachers can use anecdotes as a tool to step inside their own understandings of themselves as learners and teachers and gain greater appreciation of themselves as professional educators. The challenge is to develop tools and strategies which promote a dialogical process whereby the professional educator can engage in critical reflection in a private and public professional conversation in an ongoing safe and supportive context. The focus of this research has been to investigate how a specific tool, anecdote, can be used by beginning and experienced teachers to engage in a critically reflective dialogue about their tacit knowledge and understandings of learning and teaching, their role as teachers and how their practice is or could be affected by those understandings. The writing and re-writing of an anecdote provides an opportunity and means to assist teachers to comprehend what has happened; to appreciate and accept that their view is always partial (in both senses of the word), and that through dialogue with their peers they can perceive, understand and capture both the complexity and ‘accuracy’ of the incident. The key findings reported here relate to the changes which occurred during the re-writing process and how this is reflected in an increased depth of understanding of the events, reactions and in particular how this ‘re-membering’ might influence current and future practice

Cloning and characterisation of two subtilisin-like protease genes from Neotyphodium lolii : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Molecular Genetics at Massey University

PCR amplification of Neotyphodium lolii genomic DNA with degenerate primers detected two different sequences with homology to subtilisin-like proteases. These two PCR products were used to screen a N. lolii Lp19 genomic library. The prt1 gene was isolated by screening the genomic library with the GH30 PCR product. This gene encodes a putative peptide of 434 amino acids that is most similar to subtilisin-like proteases from Aspergillus sp. The prt1 gene contained a single intron, which was in a position conserved with other fungal genes. 3'RACE was used to determine the polyadenylation site for the prt1 gene. Repetitive DNA was a feature of both the 3' untranslated region (UTR) and sequences downstream of the prtl gene. Within the 3' UTR, a complex microsatellite was found extending over 50 base pairs. Downstream of the gene, a minisatellite locus of 360 base pairs in size was found, consisting of 40 copies of a 9 base pair AT-rich repeat. Expression of prt1 was examined in cultures with various types of carbon and nitrogen sources. Although no conclusive results could be drawn, the type of carbon and nitrogen available did have some effect on prt1 expression. Repression of prt1 expression was only observed in media supplemented with sucrose and glutamate. A 500 bp fragment from the prt1 promoter was introduced into the vector pFunGus to create a translational fusion with gusA. This vector, pMM9, was transformed into Penicillium paxilli. Although transformation frequencies were low, the transformants obtained appeared to be stable for hygromycin resistance. Expression of GUS was observed in seven out of twelve of the stable transformants. This showed that the promoter fragment in pMM9 was sufficient for expression of GUS in a heterologous system. The prt2 gene was isolated by screening a genomic library with the GH3 PCR product. Partial sequence has been obtained for the prt2 gene. The prt2 gene contains at least three introns, the first of which is conserved with prt1. From the sequence obtained, prt2 encodes a peptide with strong similarity to subtilisin-like proteases from Metarhizium anisopliae, a fungal pathogen of insects

Community Foundations Take the Lead: Promising Approaches to Building Inclusive and Equitable Communities

Features the work of several community foundations that have promoted racial equity, highlighting their successes and challenges

The SGLT2 inhibitor empagliflozin for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus: A bench to bedside review

INTRODUCTION: The treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) continues to pose challenges for clinicians and patients. The dramatic rise in T2DM prevalence, which has paralleled the rise in obesity, has strained the healthcare system and prompted the search for therapies that not only effectively treat hyperglycemia, but are also weight neutral or promote weight loss. In most clinical situations after diagnosis, patients are advised to adopt lifestyle changes and metformin is initiated to help control blood glucose levels. However, metformin may not be tolerated, or may not be sufficient for those with higher glucose levels at diagnosis. Even among those who have initial success with metformin, the majority eventually require one or more additional agents to achieve their treatment goals. Because T2DM is a progressive disease, the requirement for combination treatment escalates over time, driving the need for therapies with complementary mechanisms of action. METHODS AND RESULTS: Online public resources were searched using “empagliflozin”, identifying 32 articles in PubMed, and 12 abstracts presented at the 2013 American Diabetes Association meeting. Peer-reviewed articles and abstracts describing preclinical studies and clinical trials were retrieved, and relevant publications included in this review. Trials registered on clinicaltrials.gov were searched for ongoing empagliflozin studies. CONCLUSION: The sodium–glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors are of great interest since they provide a novel, insulin-independent mechanism of action. The SGLT2 inhibitor empagliflozin has demonstrated promising pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic properties. In clinical trials, empagliflozin has demonstrated a good efficacy and safety profile in a broad range of patients with T2DM, and appears to be an attractive adjunct therapeutic option for the treatment of T2DM. Ongoing trials, including patients with T2DM and comorbidities such as hypertension, are expected to provide important additional data, which will further define the role of empagliflozin in a growing movement toward individualized approaches to diabetes care. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s13300-014-0063-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

An analysis of performance on the Rey auditory-verbal learning test after traumatic brain injury, and its association with reported everyday memory performance : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University

The current study was conducted in two parts. Study 1 examined the Rey Auditory-Verbal Learning Test (AVLT) performance of 353 individuals who had been referred to an outpatient psychology clinic having sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Individuals were divided into subgroups based on their patterns of performance on the AVLT. Individuals with low trial 1 scores were divided into three groups based on their subsequent AVLT performance. Individuals with low delayed-recall scores were divided into four groups based on their performance on preceding AVLT trials. For the TBI group as a whole, significant correlations were found between AVLT scores and age, education, and general intelligence (as measured by verbal IQ). Study 2 investigated relative ratings of everyday memory performance on the Patient Competency Rating Scale). This data was available for 82 of the individuals in the initial sample. The relationship between reported everyday memory performance and test performance on the AVLT was examined for this group. No significant correlations were found between these two variables. Low correlations were found between patient and relative ratings on the PCRS. Individuals were divided in four groups based on their everyday memory and test performance. Individuals with low everyday memory performance were found to have a similar type and number of difficulties, regardless of their AVLT performance. The results of this study highlight the varied performance of individuals after TBI, both on memory tests such as the AVLT and reported everyday memory performance. The AVLT should not be used to predict the level of difficulty in daily life as the correlations are not significant