Writing Class In and Out: Constructions of Class in Elite Businesswomen's Autobiographies

The final version of this paper has been published in Sociology, November 2020 by SAGE Publications Ltd, All rights reserved. © The Authors, 2020. It is available at: https://journals.sagepub.com/home/socThis article explores how meanings of class are constructed in elite businesswomen’s autobiographies. It extends existing sociological studies of elites in two ways. First, by theorising the cultural mechanisms that contribute to the reproduction of business elites, and second, by examining the hitherto under-researched gendered aspects of the reproduction of business elites, and the legitimisation of wealth. We show how these autobiographical texts acknowledge class yet render it irrelevant through discursive repertoires of ordinariness, a universal gender struggle and the unimportance of wealth. We argue that in doing so the genre of elite businesswomen autobiographies contributes to the cultural erasure of class, perpetuating messages that contribute to the creation of a cultural milieu in which class and wealth inequalities remain unquestioned. In an economic context where social disparities continue to grow, the article importantly furthers our understanding of the cultural means by which a plutocratic elite holds on to power

Regulation of the Actin Cytoskeleton by an Interaction of IQGAP Related Protein GAPA with Filamin and Cortexillin I

Filamin and Cortexillin are F-actin crosslinking proteins in Dictyostelium discoideum allowing actin filaments to form three-dimensional networks. GAPA, an IQGAP related protein, is required for cytokinesis and localizes to the cleavage furrow during cytokinesis. Here we describe a novel interaction with Filamin which is required for cytokinesis and regulation of the F-actin content. The interaction occurs through the actin binding domain of Filamin and the GRD domain of GAPA. A similar interaction takes place with Cortexillin I. We further report that Filamin associates with Rac1a implying that filamin might act as a scaffold for small GTPases. Filamin and activated Rac associate with GAPA to regulate actin remodelling. Overexpression of filamin and GAPA in the various strains suggests that GAPA regulates the actin cytoskeleton through interaction with Filamin and that it controls cytokinesis through association with Filamin and Cortexillin

Learning environment, attitudes and anxiety across the transition from primary to secondary school mathematics

Past research has revealed that, relative to primary-school students, high-school students have less-positive attitudes to mathematics and perceive their classroom environments and teacher–student relationships less favourably. This study involved the transition experience of 541 students in 47 classes in 15 primary (year 7) and secondary (year 8) government and Catholic schools in metropolitan and regional South Australia. Scales were adapted from three established instruments, namely, the What Is Happening In this Class?, Test of Mathematics Related Attitudes and Revised Mathematics Anxiety Ratings Scale, to identify changes across the transition from primary to secondary school in terms of the classroom learning environment and students’ attitude/anxiety towards mathematics. Relative to year 7 students, year 8 students reported less Involvement, less positive Attitude to Mathematical Inquiry, less Enjoyment of Mathematics and greater Mathematics Anxiety. Differences between students in Years 7 and 8 were very similar for male and female students, although the magnitude of sex differences in attitudes was slightly different in Years 7 and 8