Development of a 100 watt S-band traveling- wave tube Quarterly progress report

Development of 100 watt S band traveling wave tube for space application

Crossing the Line? Victim and Defendant Attractiveness Impacts Juror Perceptions in a Stalking Case

Stalking cases can often be ambiguous, which makes it difficult for jurors to determine if the defendant crossed the line from romantic courtship to stalking. The present research used a mock juror experiment to assess the effect of victim attractiveness and defendant attractiveness on juror decision-making in a stalking case. Community member participants (N = 296) read a stalking trial summary in which we manipulated attractiveness of the victim and defendant via images and asked participants to rate perceptions such as credibility, sympathy, and stalking typicality. We found a main effect of defendant attractiveness such that a more attractive defendant led to more pro-defendant ratings (e.g., higher defendant credibility, higher sympathy for the defendant). Also, we found a main effect of victim attractiveness such that a more attractive victim led to more pro-victim ratings (e.g., higher victim credibility, lower victim blame). Further, we also found that women were more anti-defendant than men; women provided lower ratings of defendant credibility, sympathy for the defendant, and romantic courtship typicality. However, the predicted effect of attractiveness on verdict was not supported. Results provide insight into how jurors’ perceptions of attractiveness of both the victim and defendant play a role in decision-making in stalking

I Think I am a Feminist: A Study of Feminist Identity Development of Undergraduate College Women

Thesis (PhD) - Indiana University, School of Education, 2006Although today's college women take advantage of the opportunities made available to them by the effort of the feminist movement, the word feminism has a negative connotation for many young women who deny identification with the label when describing themselves. Central research questions included: a) how is feminism defined by the college women in this study; b) what is the current start of feminism on this college campus; and c) how do the epistemological perspective of these young women relate to their understanding and acceptance of feminism. Fifty-six undergraduate women at a selective co-educational liberal arts institution completed a survey of their position on feminism and were asked to identify as a)feminist, b) non-feminist, or c) don't know. Twenty-five of these respondents were interviewed in depth to explore their experience of feminism. Epistemological stage of the participants was studied through the use of the Measure of Epistemological Reflection (Baxter Magolda & Porterfield, 1985). Half of the women in the study considered themselves feminist and many in the "don't know" category were exploring feminism. Definitions of feminism were contextual and varied greatly among the respondents, depending upon their position on feminism and their experiences and values. These college women faced many obstacles in developing a feminist identity: lack of role models, negative stereotypes, peer pressure, and lack of information. Each woman's epistemological stage was integral in helping her deal with these obstacles, gain awareness and form an opinion based on her own beliefs and needs. The research results in the development of a new model of feminist identity development. Five positions through which college women develop a feminist identity are presented in the model: afeminist, non-feminist, non-feminist supporter of feminist issues, feminist with qualifiers and feminist. Case studies that illustrate each position are presented. The state of feminism cannot be measured in traditional ways. Rather than counting the participants in feminist organizations and women's studies classes, new approaches must be used to uncover the extent of feminism. Although many of the women in the study were not "active" in traditional ways, nevertheless feminism was very significant in their lives

Broaching Badges for Learning

Learning related to Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) is often delivered on demand using a variety of short, non-accredited methods, for example workshops, videos, online courses, self study. This is a pragmatic approach given that the rapid pace of change in TEL means that it is almost impossible for qualifications to stay relevant in terms of content, level or delivery method (House of Lords Digital Skills Committee (2014)). However each piece of learning stands independently and it can be difficult to later remember, let alone demonstrate meaningfully for PDR, CPD or to prospective employers. A potential solution that is gaining traction as a means of evidencing non-accredited learning is the use of Badges. These can be attached to a piece of learning and are aimed at transcending a single learning context to become transferable, lifelong assets. The Open University has identified badging as a key trend in accrediting informal learning. Collecting groups of badges have the potential to lead to coherent ‘qualifications’. Using badges, however presents issues about quality and portability though initiatives such as Mozilla’s Open Badge scheme are beginning to address these challenges through the embedding metadata into badges that gives information about content, level, issuing authority etc.. The aim of this project was to investigate the use of Digital Badges for staff development related to TEL.TFA

Efficacy of a Novel Molecular Tool in Silencing Arabidopsis Genes

RNA interference (RNAi), a pathway capable of silencing genes, has until recently only been achievable in the laboratory by the use of one method, expression of inverted repeat sequences of DNA. These constructs generate a double-stranded RNA, which in turn induce post-transcriptional silencing of other genes that bear sequence homology with the transgene. This approach of targeted gene silencing is extremely useful for studying the function of genes and engineering new traits in both plants and animals. It has recently been discovered that a transgene lacking the polyadenylation signal, called a truncated transgene, is also capable of inducing RNAi in plant cells. This technique was used in efficiently silencing two genes of Arabidopsis thaliana, the Phytochrome A (PHYA) and Phytochrome B (PHY B) genes; however, the effectiveness of this method on a broader range of genes is unknown. The purpose of this study is to analyze the effect of truncated-transgene expression on the homologous native genes in the Arabidopsis genome. More specifically, the rate of silencing of three genes, Variegated 2 (VAR2), Brassinosteroid Insensitive 1 (BRI1) and Apetala 1 (AP1) due to the expression of truncated VAR2, BRI1, and AP1 transgenes, respectively, in Arabidopsis thaliana was examined. This experiment provided important data for assessing the efficacy of truncated transgene based gene silencing system for plants

Sources of salmonella contamination in pig processing

The quantification of current state of the art on alternative/novel pig slaughtenng and processing procedures and pork decontamination was the initial aim of a project to reduce salmonella in pig processing for the UK Foods Standards Agency. To achieve these aims a survey of current commercial processing conditions was carried out, the published literature reviewed, and a review performed of technology from other sectors

Changes in carcass microbial distribution and water conditions during the scalding and dehairing of pig carcasses

Salmonella contaminatron is of major concern in the production of pork As part of a UK Food Standards Agency project looking at reducing salmonella contamrnation, a survey of current processing conditions in UK pig slaughterhouses and a review of published data identified pork scalding and dehairing systems as a likely major source of salmonella contamination during pork processing

RNAi-mediated abrogation of trehalase expression does not affect trehalase activity in sugarcane

To engineer trehalose metabolism in sugarcane (Saccharum spp. hybrids) two transgenes were introduced to the genome: trehalose-6-phosphate synthase- phosphatase (TPSP), to increase trehalose biosynthesis and an RNAi transgene specific for trehalase, to abrogate trehalose catabolism. In RNAi-expressing lines trehalase expression was abrogated in many plants however no decrease in trehalase activity was observed. In TPSP lines trehalase activity was significantly higher. No events of co-integration of TPSP and RNAi transgenes were observed. We suggest trehalase activity is essential to mitigate embryonic lethal effects of trehalose metabolism and discuss the implications for engineering trehalose metabolism

Three-dimensional dental microwear in type-Maastrichtian mosasaur teeth (Reptilia, Squamata)

Mosasaurs (Squamata, Mosasauridae) were large aquatic reptiles from the Late Cretaceous that filled a range of ecological niches within marine ecosystems. The type-Maastrichtian strata (68–66 Ma) of the Netherlands and Belgium preserve remains of five species that seemed to have performed different ecological roles (carnivores, piscivores, durophages). However, many interpretations of mosasaur diet and niche partitioning are based on qualitative types of evidence that are difficult to test explicitly. Here, we apply three-dimensional dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA) to provide quantitative dietary constraints for type-Maastrichtian mosasaurs, and to assess levels of niche partitioning between taxa. DMTA indicates that these mosasaurs did not exhibit neatly defined diets or strict dietary partitioning. Instead, we identify three broad groups: (i) mosasaurs Carinodens belgicus and Plioplatecarpus marshi plotting in the space of modern reptiles that are predominantly piscivorous and/or consume harder invertebrate prey, (ii) Prognathodon saturator and Prognathodon sectorius overlapping with extant reptiles that consume larger amounts of softer invertebrate prey items, and (iii) Mosasaurus hoffmanni spanning a larger plot area in terms of dietary constraints. The clear divide between the aforementioned first two groups in texture-dietary space indicates that, despite our small sample sizes, this method shows the potential of DMTA to test hypotheses and provide quantitative constraints on mosasaur diets and ecological roles