The Paradoxes of Contingency: Stories of Contingent Professional Tutors’ Lived Experiences

Despite comprising the majority of labor in higher education in general and writing centers more specifically, contingent workers’ voices and experiences have often been overlooked. The contingent voices that have been represented have predominantly been those in director or administrative positions, not the professional tutors who engage in centers’ day-to-day consulting. This lack of representation in the literature perpetuates institutional inequities and belies a larger paradox: that contingent workers attempting to ameliorate the precarity of their situation may jeopardize their livelihood. Because contingent workers’ identities and roles have historically been ignored and marginalized, few research and publication options are available to them. For this reason, this research used autoethnography, one of the only methodologies available to the contingent professional tutor authors that allowed us agency to share our lived experiences and identities as contingent workers. Three themes emerged from our autoethnographies: vital to but not valued by the institution, working to live but destroying the body, and the illusion of choice. After discussing themes, we call for a continuation of what this work begins, particularly that the field of writing center studies should aim for wider representation of contingent and multi-identitied voices in its literature, conferences, and leadership organizations

The implicit power of positive thinking: The effect of positive episodic simulation on implicit future expectancies

Previous research demonstrating that positive episodic simulation enhances future expectancies has relied on explicit expectancy measures. The current study investigated the effects of episodic simulation on implicit expectancies. Using the Future Thinking Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (FT-IRAP), participants made true/false decisions to indicate whether or not they expected positive/negative outcomes after adopting orientations consistent or inconsistent with an optimistic disposition. The outcome measure, DIRAP, was based on response time differences between consistent and inconsistent blocks. Participants then engaged in either positive simulation training, in which they imagined positive future events, or a neutral visualisation task before repeating the FT-IRAP twice following 10-minute intervals. Positive simulation training increased DIRAP scores for don’t-expect-negative trials – boosting participants’ readiness to affirm that negative events were unlikely to happen to them. Although findings did not generalise across all trial types, they show potential for positive simulation training to enhance implicit future expectancies

Human Papillomavirus Risk Perceptions Among Young Adult Sexual Minority Cisgender Women and Nonbinary Individuals Assigned Female at Birth

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/148405/1/psrh12087_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/148405/2/psrh12087.pd

Informing mHealth and Web-Based Eating Disorder Interventions: Combining Lived Experience Perspectives With Design Thinking Approaches

Background: App-based interventions designed to prevent and treat eating disorders have considerable potential to overcome known barriers to treatment seeking. Existing apps have shown efficacy in terms of symptom reduction; however, uptake and retention issues are common. To ensure that apps meet the needs and preferences of those for whom they were designed, it is critical to understand the lived experience of potential users and involve them in the process of design, development, and delivery. However, few app-based interventions are pretested on and co-designed with end users before randomized controlled trials. Objective: To address the issue, this study used a highly novel design thinking approach to provide the context and a lived experience perspective of the end user, thus allowing for a deeper level of understanding. Methods: In total, 7 young women (mean age 25.83, SD 5.34, range 21-33 years) who self-identified as having a history of body image issues or eating disorders were recruited. Participants were interviewed about their lived experience of body image and eating disorders and reported their needs and preferences for app-based eating disorder interventions. Traditional (thematic analysis) and novel (empathy mapping; visually depicting and empathizing with the user’s personal experience) analyses were performed, providing a lived experience perspective of eating disorders and identifying the needs and preferences of this population in relation to app-based interventions for eating disorders. Key challenges and opportunities for app-based eating disorder interventions were also identified. Results: Findings highlighted the importance of understanding and identifying problematic eating disorder symptoms for the user, helpful practices for recovery that identify personal values and goals, the role of social support in facilitating hope, and aspects of usability to promote continued engagement and recovery. Conclusions: Practical guidance and recommendations are described for those developing app-based eating disorder interventions. These findings have the potential to inform practices to enhance participant uptake and retention in the context of app-based interventions for this population

The implicit power of positive thinking: The effect of positive episodic simulation on implicit future expectancies

Previous research demonstrating that positive episodic simulation enhances future expectancies has relied on explicit expectancy measures. The current study investigated the effects of episodic simulation on implicit expectancies. Using the Future Thinking Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (FT-IRAP), participants made true/false decisions to indicate whether or not they expected positive/negative outcomes after adopting orientations consistent or inconsistent with an optimistic disposition. The outcome measure, DIRAP, was based on response time differences between consistent and inconsistent blocks. Participants then engaged in either positive simulation training, in which they imagined positive future events, or a neutral visualisation task before repeating the FT-IRAP twice following 10-minute intervals. Positive simulation training increased DIRAP scores for don’t-expect-negative trials–boosting participants’ readiness to affirm that negative events were unlikely to happen to them. Although findings did not generalise across all trial types, they show potential for positive simulation training to enhance implicit future expectancies

A Multi-Site Analysis of the Prevalence of Food Insecurity in the United States, before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic profoundly affected food systems including food security. Understanding how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted food security is important to provide support and identify long-term impacts and needs. Objective: The National Food Access and COVID research Team (NFACT) was formed to assess food security over different US study sites throughout the pandemic, using common instruments and measurements. This study presents results from 18 study sites across 15 states and nationally over the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A validated survey instrument was developed and implemented in whole or part through an online survey of adults across the sites throughout the first year of the pandemic, representing 22 separate surveys. Sampling methods for each study site were convenience, representative, or high-risk targeted. Food security was measured using the USDA 6-item module. Food security prevalence was analyzed using ANOVA by sampling method to assess statistically significant differences. Results: Respondents (n = 27,168) indicate higher prevalence of food insecurity (low or very low food security) since the COVID-19 pandemic, compared with before the pandemic. In nearly all study sites, there is a higher prevalence of food insecurity among Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), households with children, and those with job disruptions. The findings demonstrate lingering food insecurity, with high prevalence over time in sites with repeat cross-sectional surveys. There are no statistically significant differences between convenience and representative surveys, but a statistically higher prevalence of food insecurity among high-risk compared with convenience surveys. Conclusions: This comprehensive study demonstrates a higher prevalence of food insecurity in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. These impacts were prevalent for certain demographic groups, and most pronounced for surveys targeting high-risk populations. Results especially document the continued high levels of food insecurity, as well as the variability in estimates due to the survey implementation method

Room temperature quantum emitters in aluminum nitride epilayers on silicon

Room temperature quantum emitters have been reported in aluminum nitride grown on sapphire, but until now they have not been observed in epilayers grown on silicon. We report that epitaxial aluminum nitride grown on silicon by either plasma vapor deposition or metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy contains point-like emitters in the red to near-infrared part of the spectrum. We study the photon statistics and polarization of emission at a wavelength of 700–750 nm, showing signatures of quantized electronic states under pulsed and CW optical excitation. The discovery of quantum emitters in a material deposited directly on silicon can drive integration using industry standard 300 mm wafers, established complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor control electronics, and low marginal-cost mass-manufacturing

The Recombinases Rad51 and Dmc1 Play Distinct Roles in DNA Break Repair and Recombination Partner Choice in the Meiosis of Tetrahymena

Repair of programmed DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) by meiotic recombination relies on the generation of flanking 3′ single-stranded DNA overhangs and their interaction with a homologous double-stranded DNA template. In various common model organisms, the ubiquitous strand exchange protein Rad51 and its meiosis-specific homologue Dmc1 have been implicated in the joint promotion of DNA–strand exchange at meiotic recombination sites. However, the division of labor between these two recombinases is still a puzzle. Using RNAi and gene-disruption experiments, we have studied their roles in meiotic recombination and chromosome pairing in the ciliated protist Tetrahymena as an evolutionarily distant meiotic model. Cytological and electrophoresis-based assays for DSBs revealed that, without Rad51p, DSBs were not repaired. However, in the absence of Dmc1p, efficient Rad51p-dependent repair took place, but crossing over was suppressed. Immunostaining and protein tagging demonstrated that only Dmc1p formed strong DSB–dependent foci on meiotic chromatin, whereas the distribution of Rad51p was diffuse within nuclei. This suggests that meiotic nucleoprotein filaments consist primarily of Dmc1p. Moreover, a proximity ligation assay confirmed that little if any Rad51p forms mixed nucleoprotein filaments with Dmc1p. Dmc1p focus formation was independent of the presence of Rad51p. The absence of Dmc1p did not result in compensatory assembly of Rad51p repair foci, and even artificial DNA damage by UV failed to induce Rad51p foci in meiotic nuclei, while it did so in somatic nuclei within one and the same cell. The observed interhomologue repair deficit in dmc1Δ meiosis is consistent with a requirement for Dmc1p in promoting the homologue as the preferred recombination partner. We propose that relatively short and/or transient Rad51p nucleoprotein filaments are sufficient for intrachromosomal recombination, whereas long nucleoprotein filaments consisting primarily of Dmc1p are required for interhomolog recombination

Tissue-specific host recognition by complement factor H is mediated by differential activities of its glycosaminoglycan-binding regions

Complement factor H (CFH) regulates complement activation in host tissues through its recognition of polyanions, which mediate CFH binding to host cell surfaces and extracellular matrix, promoting the deactivation of deposited C3b. These polyanions include heparan sulfate (HS), a glycosaminoglycan (GAG) with a highly diverse range of structures, for which two regions of CFH (referred to as CCP6-8 and CCP19-20) have been implicated in HS binding. Mutations/polymorphisms within these GAG-binding sites have been associated with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS). Here we demonstrate that CFH has tissue-specific binding properties, mediated through its two HS-binding regions. Our data shows that the CCP6-8 region of CFH binds more strongly to heparin (a highly sulfated form of HS) than CCPs19-20 and that their sulfate specificities are different. Furthermore, the HS-binding site in CCPs6-8, which is affected by the AMD-associated Y402H polymorphism, plays the principle role in host tissue recognition in the human eye, whilst the CCP19-20 region makes the major contribution to the binding of CFH in the human kidney. This helps provide a biochemical explanation for the genetic basis of tissue-specific diseases such as AMD and aHUS, and leads to a better understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms for these diseases of complement dysregulation