Women Seeking the Public School Superintendency: Navigating the Gendered and Racialized-Gendered Job Search

I have been an educator for my entire career. First, as a teacher and over the last decade as a school administrator. During my tenure, I have continually noticed the underrepresentation of women in the highest office: the school superintendent. This has vexed me over the years, and as a scholar practitioner in leadership and change, I have devoted my research to unearthing the inequalities and disproportional realities that exist within high-profile leadership, particularly the public school superintendency. Utilizing a grounded theory approach, this dissertation sought to better understand what happens at the micro-level, especially during and after the superintendent search and selection process, for women who successfully land a final round interview, but ultimately are not selected for the position. More often than not, women are quick to make the shortlist of finalists, and as nearly 74% of all superintendents are male (Tienken, 2021), yet only rarely get offered the position. Through the use of constructivist grounded theory methods, this dissertation reveals a navigational journey riddled with gendered and racialized-gendered experiences rife with barriers for the women who strive for the position. Despite these difficult and challenging obstacles, this dissertation found strength, resilience, and fortitude within the data and the following dimensions: navigating gendered and racialized-gendered experiences, living my core, drifting from self, The Big Kaboom, and finding peace. As a result, this study asserts three theoretical implications related to the experiences of women as they seek the superintendency. This dissertation is available in open access AURA (https://aura.antioch.edu) and OhioLINK ETD center (https://etd.ohiolink.edu)

Diving behaviour of whale sharks in relation to a predictable food pulse

We present diving data for four whale sharks in relation to a predictable food pulse (reef fish spawn) and an analysis of the longest continuous fine-resolution diving record for a planktivorous shark. Fine-resolution pressure data from a recovered pop-up archival satellite tag deployed for 206 days on a whale shark were analysed using the fast Fourier Transform method for frequency domain analysis of time-series. The results demonstrated that a free-ranging whale shark displays ultradian, diel and circa-lunar rhythmicity of diving behaviour. Whale sharks dive to over 979.5 m and can tolerate a temperature range of 26.4 degrees C. The whale sharks made primarily diurnal deep dives and remained in relatively shallow waters at night. Whale shark diving patterns are influenced by a seasonally predictable food source, with shallower dives made during fish spawning periods

Smile Pretty and Watch Your Back: Personal Safety Anxiety and Vigilance in Objectification Theory

Objectification Theory posits that everyday encounters with sexual objectification carry a diffuse nonspecific sense of threat that engenders personal safety anxiety in women. In this article, we provide direct evidence for this tenet across 5 studies and 1,665 participants using multiple methods. Study 1 (N=207) and Study 2 (N= 161) explored and confirmed the factor structure of the Personal Safety Anxiety and Vigilance Scale (PSAVS), a measure of personal safety anxiety, and provided evidence for the reliability and construct validity of its scores. Study 3 (N=363) showed that personal safety anxiety is a conceptually different construct for women and men, and differentially mediated the relation between sexual objectification and restricted freedom of movement and the relation between self-objectification and restricted freedom of movement for women and men. Study 4 (N=460) included a comprehensive test of personal safety anxiety within an expanded Objectification Theory model, which supported personal safety anxiety as a mediator of the links from sexual and self-objectification to women’s restricted freedom of movement. Study 5 (N=474) replicated these results while also adjusting for specific fears of crime and rape. Our findings offer a newly validated assessment tool for future research on safety anxiety, illuminate the real and lasting sense of threat engendered by everyday sexual objectification, and broaden understanding of the mental and physical constraints on women’s lived experiences posited in Objectification Theory

Alcohol consumption and protective behavioural strategy use among Australian young adults

This study examines the use of safeguards or protective behaviours by young adults to reduce the harm and negative consequences associated with excessive alcohol consumption. Participants were 210 Australian university students. Participants completed an online questionnaire which focused on their alcohol consumption and engagement in protective behaviours. Results indicate that all participants who consumed alcohol engaged in protective behaviours at some level, with females reporting similar levels of these behaviours to males. Protective strategy use was related to less negative consequences of alcohol use. These findings suggest that the promotion of harm reduction strategies is needed to complement prevention programmes which aim to reduce the consumption of alcohol

Mass spectrometric characterisation of the circulating peptidome following oral glucose ingestion in control and gastrectomised patients.

RATIONALE: Meal ingestion triggers secretion of a variety of gut and endocrine peptides important in diabetes research which are routinely measured by immunoassays. However, similarities between some peptides (glucagon, oxyntomodulin and glicentin) can cause specificity issues with immunoassays. We used a liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) methodology to unambiguously monitor multiple gut peptides in human plasma. METHODS: A simple acetonitrile-based protein precipitation step, followed by evaporation and solid-phase extraction, removed high-abundance proteins from samples prior to nano-LC/MS/MS analysis on an Orbitrap Q-Exactive Plus mass spectrometer using a data-dependent methodology. Database searching using PEAKS identified multiple gut-derived peptides, including peptides in the mid-pg/mL range. The relative levels of these and previously characterised peptides were assessed in plasma samples from gastrectomised and control subjects during an oral glucose tolerance test. RESULTS: Analysis of plasma extracts revealed significantly elevated levels of a number of peptides following glucose ingestion in subjects who had undergone gastrectomy compared with controls. These included GLP-1(7-36), GLP-1(9-36), glicentin, oxyntomodulin, GIP(1-42), GIP(3-42), PYY(1-36), PYY(3-36), neurotensin, insulin and C-peptide. Motilin levels decreased following glucose ingestion. Results showed good correlation with immunoassay-derived concentrations of some peptides in the same samples. The gastrectomy group also had higher, but non-glucose-dependent, circulating levels of peptides from PIGR and DMBT1. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the approach showed that a fast, generic and reproducible LC/MS/MS methodology requiring only a small volume of plasma was capable of the multiplexed detection of a variety of diabetes-related peptides.Wellcome Trust and MR

Collagen Based Multicomponent Interpenetrating Networks as Promising Scaffolds for 3D Culture of Human Neural Stem Cells, Human Astrocytes, and Human Microglia

This work describes for the first time the fabrication and characterization of multicomponent interpenetrating networks composed of collagen I, hyaluronic acid, and poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate for the 3D culture of human neural stem cells, astrocytes, and microglia. The chemical composition of the scaffolds can be modulated while maintaining values of complex moduli within the range of the mechanical performance of brain tissue (∼6.9 kPa) and having cell viability exceeding 84%. The developed scaffolds are a promising new family of biomaterials that can potentially serve as 3D in vitro models for studying the physiology and physiopathology of the central nervous system

Using the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) model to analyse Teachers’ use of Information Communication Technology in Primary Physical Education

Background: During the past decade there has been a significant increase in the range and quantity of digital technologies available to use within classrooms (Casey, 2011; Casey, Goodyear and Armour, 2016; Gard, 2014; Livingstone, 2012; Lupton, 2015). This transformation has provided a plethora of options by which to embed Information Communication Technology (ICT) within teaching practice in Primary Physical Education (PPE). It has been recognised that using ICT is an important skill to develop amongst children (Livingstone, 2012), and can provide unique opportunities for developing high-quality reflection and feedback skills (Fabian and Maclean, 2014; Weir and Connor, 2009). There is a thriving debate within the education literature concerning how best to integrate technology to support learning and development (Casey et al., 2017; Livingstone, 2012). Purpose: Using the TPACK model to frame our analysis (Mishra and Koehler, 2006), the research aims were to; (i) identify how primary teachers used different forms of technology within their practice as physical educators, and (ii) to determine the barriers to successful inclusion of digital technology into PPE. Methods: Qualitative data were collected from both specialist (n=6) and non-specialist (n=3) PPE teachers in a range of different educational environments. In total, 9 teachers were interviewed from 8 different schools using a semi-structured approach. Data were analysed using thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2021), with each member of the research team independently analysing the transcripts before agreeing on codes and subsequent themes. Findings: Key findings show that whilst there were many examples of the use of ICT within the primary curriculum in all schools, most teachers used limited digital technology within their teaching of PPE. Those who did include technology reported this as a replacement for a lack of Content Knowledge (CK) or Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK), to save time during teaching or assessment activities, or for the delivery of specific activities. Whilst many were aware of available mediums of digital technology, ever-present barriers such as a lack of technical knowledge (TK), limited confidence or time constraints were cited as reasons for its exclusion from lessons. Conclusions: Technology should be considered a key part of a teacher’s toolbox in contemporary education. However, we caution against the dangers of using this as an afterthought and instead urge practitioners to fully integrate this as a tool to support learning using the TPACK framework as a filter for decision-making. Greater emphasis on training in both initial teacher education and continuous professional development in schools is needed, thus allowing teachers to develop the knowledge and confidence to successfully integrate ICT into their PPE curriculum

A Radio Pulsar/X-ray Binary Link

Radio pulsars with millisecond spin periods are thought to have been spun up by transfer of matter and angular momentum from a low-mass companion star during an X-ray-emitting phase. The spin periods of the neutron stars in several such low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB) systems have been shown to be in the millisecond regime, but no radio pulsations have been detected. Here we report on detection and follow-up observations of a nearby radio millisecond pulsar (MSP) in a circular binary orbit with an optically identified companion star. Optical observations indicate that an accretion disk was present in this system within the last decade. Our optical data show no evidence that one exists today, suggesting that the radio MSP has turned on after a recent LMXB phase.Comment: published in Scienc

Causes and consequences of the Messinian salinity crisis

Salt giants are massive salt deposits (at least hundreds of m thick) that form during the evaporation of semi-enclosed seas. However, the drivers of salt giant formation and their feedbacks on global and regional environmental change remain debated. In this Review, we summarize the boundary conditions, causes and consequences of the Mediterranean Messinian salinity crisis (MSC; 5.97-5.33 Ma), and highlight the impacts of salt extraction and ion return on the Earth system. Salt giant formation is more complex than the simple evaporation of an enclosed sea. Instead, the tectonic setting of an evaporative basin largely determines the timing and mode of salt formation, with superimposed impacts of orbital-scale climate and sea-level fluctuations. These drivers triggered precipitation of carbonates, gypsum, halite, and even bittern salts in the Mediterranean, with well-defined orbital cyclicities in carbonate and gypsum phases. Removal of Ca2+ during salt deposition decouples the oceanic Ca2+ and HCO3- sinks, causing a CaCO3 burial decrease and, consequently, increased ocean pH, lower atmospheric pCO2, and global cooling. Salt giants, which reflect a ~7 to 10 % net evaporite-ion extraction from oceans that persists over million-year timescales, could therefore be an important climatic driver, but are currently not considered in long-term carbon cycle models. Future research should target more advanced hydrogeochemical models of water exchange with the open ocean to provide critical context for understanding interactions between salt giants and environmental change