Haunting the Body: An Exploration of Scars as Ghosts

In this paper, I examine Gillian Flynn’s novel “Sharp Objects,” along with the HBO miniseries adaptation, and how they raise important questions about representations of trauma and portrayals of self harm in entertainment. I argue that the protagonist’s self harm scars act as ghosts, because both scars and hauntings are physical manifestations of psychological trauma, and both are messengers from the past. Historically and socioculturally, women are associated with self violence and the supernatural, both of which are prevalent themes in the “Sharp Objects” novel and television show. This paper also examines the important distinction between read and watched trauma, as well as the validity of these creative interpretations of self harm in terms of psychological research and personal testimonies. Applying psychological theories and horror constructs to the narratives, I assert that Flynn and director Jean-Marc Vallée present self harm as a haunting to exploit the association of scars and ghosts with the uncanny, and to attract readers and viewers with dramatic content. Ultimately, I prompt readers to consider their own reactions to and emotions surrounding self harm, and ask that consumers of entertainment practice empathy when considering self harm

Gender Constraints and Rice Varietal Characteristics Preferences in Lowland Rice Ecosystem in Ghana

This study examined the constraints and differences in varietal preferences for male and female rice farmers in lowland rice ecosystem in Ashanti Region of Ghana. Successful development interventions such as dissemination of improved rice varieties are, by their nature, transformative but paying attention to gender constraints and varietal preferences will always make them more effective.  Yet, these issues are not adequately documented and analyzed in adoption studies. A total sample size of seventy (70) rice farmers was randomly selected for an in-depth individual interview, using structured questionnaires. Analytical tools used were mainly descriptive and statistical methods. The results indicate that gender constraints are influenced by gender roles. The male constraints are lack of credit to expand cultivation, land preparation, bird scaring, land availability and weeding, whilst their female counterparts are credited to expand cultivation, bird scaring, weeding, labour availability and land preparation. Furthermore, the varietal preferences of males are marketability, good taste, good cooking quality, medium plant height and good aroma, whilst good taste, early maturity, high yield, high tillering ability and marketability loom very large in females’ choice of rice varieties characteristics.  The paper concludes that Ghana needs to review her rice breeding policies to confront the challenge of low adoption of improved rice varieties, and in doing this gender constraints and preferences for varietal characteristics should be factored into breeding. Keywords: Gender constraints and preferences, varietal characteristics, lowland rice ecosystem, improved rice varietie

What Do Unions Do for Economic Performance?

Twenty years have passed since Freeman and Medoff's What Do Unions Do? This essay assesses their analysis of how unions in the U.S. private sector affect economic performance - productivity, profitability, investment, and growth. Freeman and Medoff are clearly correct that union productivity effects vary substantially across workplaces. Their conclusion that union effects are on average positive and substantial cannot be sustained, subsequent evidence suggesting an average union productivity effect near zero. Their speculation that productivity effects are larger in more competitive environments appears to hold up, although more evidence is needed. Subsequent literature continues to find unions associated with lower profitability, as noted by Freeman and Medoff. Unions are found to tax returns stemming from market power, but industry concentration is not the source of such returns. Rather, unions capture firm quasi-rents arising from long-lived tangible and intangible capital and from firm-specific advantages. Lower profits and the union tax on asset returns leads to reduced investment and, subsequently, lower employment and productivity growth. There is little evidence that unionization leads to higher rates of business failure. Given the decline in U.S. private sector unionism, I explore avenues through which individual and collective voice might be enhanced, focusing on labor law and workplace governance defaults. Substantial enhancement of voice requires change in the nonunion sector and employer as well as worker initiatives. It is unclear whether labor unions would be revitalized or further marginalized by such an evolution

Intramuscular Adipose Tissue, Sarcopenia, and Mobility Function in Older Individuals

Objective. Intramuscular adipose tissue (IMAT) and sarcopenia may adversely impact mobility function and physical activity. This study determined the association of locomotor muscle structure and function with mobility function in older adults. Method. 109 older adults with a variety of comorbid disease conditions were examined for thigh muscle composition via MRI, knee extensor strength via isometric dynamometry, and mobility function. The contribution of strength, quadriceps lean tissue, and IMAT to explaining the variability in mobility function was examined using multivariate linear regression models. Results. The predictors as a group contributed 27–45% of the variance in all outcome measures; however, IMAT contributed between 8–15% of the variance in all four mobility variables, while lean explained only 5% variance in only one mobility measure. Conclusions. Thigh IMAT, a newly identified muscle impairment appears to be a potent muscle variable related to the ability of older adults to move about in their community

First Measurement of the Cross-Correlation of CMB Lensing and Galaxy Lensing

We measure the cross-correlation of cosmic microwave background lensing convergence maps derived from Atacama Cosmology Telescope data with galaxy lensing convergence maps as measured by the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Stripe 82 Survey. The CMB-galaxy lensing cross power spectrum is measured for the first time with a significance of 3.2, which corresponds to a 16% constraint on the amplitude of density fluctuations at redshifts ~ 0.9. With upcoming improved lensing data, this novel type of measurement will become a powerful cosmological probe, providing a precise measurement of the mass distribution at intermediate redshifts and serving as a calibrator for systematic biases in weak lensing measurements

How do we achieve nature positive? A vision and targets for the UK residential and commercial development sector

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework’s 2050 Vision depicts a world living in harmony with nature where “biodiversity is valued, conserved, restored and wisely used, maintaining ecosystem services, sustaining a healthy planet and delivering benefits essential for all people”. To achieve this vision, alternatives to business-as-usual are urgently needed, especially in the highest impacting sectors. Here we demonstrate the use of visioning and target setting to create an actionable roadmap to a ‘nature positive’ future for the UK residential and commercial development sector. During an online workshop, ten expert participants defined a shared vision for the development sector in 2050, and worked collaboratively to identify interim targets required to achieve that vision. The resulting roadmap highlights the need to improve biodiversity monitoring and assessment methods, strengthen Biodiversity Net Gain metrics, increase ecological literacy and conservation funding, and enhance community access to, and connection with, nature

Management of intra-abdominal infections : recommendations by the WSES 2016 consensus conference

This paper reports on the consensus conference on the management of intra-abdominal infections (IAIs) which was held on July 23, 2016, in Dublin, Ireland, as a part of the annual World Society of Emergency Surgery (WSES) meeting. This document covers all aspects of the management of IAIs. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation recommendation is used, and this document represents the executive summary of the consensus conference findings.Peer reviewe

Developing an algorithm for pulse oximetry derived respiratory rate (RRoxi): a healthy volunteer study

Objective The presence of respiratory information within the pulse oximeter signal (PPG) is a well-documented phenomenon. However, extracting this information for the purpose of continuously monitoring respiratory rate requires: (1) the recognition of the multi-faceted manifestations of respiratory modulation components within the PPG and the complex interactions among them; (2) the implementation of appropriate advanced signal processing techniques to take full advantage of this information; and (3) the post-processing infrastructure to deliver a clinically useful reported respiratory rate to the end user. A holistic algorithmic approach to the problem is therefore required. We have developed the RROXI algorithm based on this principle and its performance on healthy subject trial data is described herein

Private Sector Union Density and the Wage Premium: Past, Present, and Future

The rise and decline of private sector unionization were among the more important features of the U.S. labor market during the twentieth century. Following a dramatic spurt in unionization after passage of the depression-era National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) of 1935, union density peaked in the mid-1950s, and then began a continuous decline. At the end of the century, the percentage of private wage and salary workers who were union members was less than 10 percent, not greatly different from union density prior to the NLRA

The Non-existence of the Labor Demand/Supply Diagram, and Other Theorems of Institutional Economics

The most famous and influential diagram in modern (neoclassical) labor economics is the model of wage determination by supply and demand. Using concepts and ideas from institutional economics, I argue that the theory of a perfectly competitive labor market is logically contradictory and, hence, the demand/supply diagram cannot exist on the plane of pure theory. Four other fundamental theorems concerning labor markets are also derived, as are implications about the theoretical foundation of the field of industrial relations and the economic evaluation of labor and employment policy. In this article I accomplish four things of significance. The first is to demonstrate that the core diagram of neoclassical labor economics - the diagram of wage determination by demand and supply (D/S) - does not have logical coherence and thus has no existence on the plane of pure theory. The second is to deduce this conclusion using a core concept of institutional economics (i.e., transaction cost), thus demonstrating that the institutional approach to labor economics has theoretical explanatory power. The third is to use the transaction cost idea to also deduce four fundamental theorems concerning labor markets and wage determination. The fourth is to identify the core theoretical foundation of the field of industrial relations. This discussion also yields important implications for the economic evaluation of labor and employment policy, as well as interesting insights on the history of thought in labor economics. Working Paper 07-2