325 research outputs found
Hypermasculinity and Violence as a Social System
Current theories of conflict fail to develop an adequate model of the causation of violence. Greed for power is often invoked, but how greed itself develops is seldom considered. Particularly absent are models explaining the vast energy that propels violence and destruction. This essay will consider bases of greed and violence unleashed by alienation and repression of emotions. Since it appears that most men in our society are more alienated/repressed than most women, the idea of hypermasculinity is used to develop a theory of conflict. The combination of alienation with the repression of vulnerable emotions suggests a biosocial doomsday machine that leads to cascading violence and destructiveness. The way in which both men and women contribute to this system is considered
Cultural Influences in the Processing of Emotion Schemas Related to Death and Violence: A Pilot Study
Culture is a key element in determining emotions that people experience when facing death.
Recent studies revealed a specific emotion schema for the affective response to death (in comparison with
unpleasant/violence-related stimulus), influenced by differences in the personalities and learning processes
of the individuals, on the one hand, and differences in the cultural and social contexts of the two groups,
on the other. The objective of the research was to compare the English participantsβ affective response to
pictures of death to those of the Spanish participants, who viewed other types of affective pictures (pleasant,
unpleasant/violence-related and neutral). A total of 38 young adults took part in an emotional assessment
using a set of pictures from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS) database. They indicated the
values of valence, arousal and dominance for each affective image. The results show that the images related
to death were less unpleasant and caused a lower activation in the English population, while there were no
differences in the two groupβs responses to unpleasant/violent images
The tropical rain belts with an annual cycle and a continent model intercomparison project: TRACMIP
This paper introduces the Tropical Rain belts with an Annual cycle and a Continent Model Intercomparison Project (TRACMIP). TRACMIP studies the dynamics of tropical rain belts and their response to past and future radiative forcings through simulations with 13 comprehensive and one simplified atmosphere models coupled to a slab ocean and driven by seasonally-varying insolation. Five idealised experiments, two with an aquaplanet setup and three with a setup with an idealized tropical continent, fill the space between prescribed-SST aquaplanet simulations and realistic simulations provided by CMIP5/6. The simulations reproduce key features of present-day climate and expected future climate change, including an annual-mean intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) that is located north of the equator and Hadley cells and eddy-driven jets that are similar to present-day climate. Quadrupling CO2 leads to a northward ITCZ shift and preferential warming in Northern high-latitudes. The simulations show interesting CO2-induced changes in the seasonal excursion of the ITCZ and indicate a possible state-dependence of climate sensitivity. The inclusion of an idealized continent modulates both the control climate and the response to increased CO2; for example, it reduces the northward ITCZ shift associated with warming and, in some models, climate sensitivity. In response to eccentricity-driven orbital seasonal insolation changes, seasonal changes in oceanic rainfall are best characterized as a meridional dipole, while seasonal continental rainfall changes tend to be symmetric about the equator. This survey illustrates TRACMIP's potential to engender a deeper understanding of global and regional climate and to address questions on past and future climate
Who Controls the Looking Glass? Towards a Conversational Understanding of Organizational Theatre
This paper presents a longitudinal study of interactive organizational theatre. Managers of a large home care organization used 30 instances of organizational theatre over a one year period to effect organizational change. We found that neither management, who had hoped that employees would accept and internalize the messages accompanying the play, nor employees, who used the liminal spaces to express their own take on the organizationβs issues, achieved their aims directly. Yet a year later, organizational performance and satisfaction were significantly improvedβmuch of this was attributed to the play. To explain this, we develop a conversational theory of change, one where βconversation piecesβ are central. We also speculate on the properties that conversation pieces and conversational systems like organizational theatre must have if they are to effect change.N/
Studying synapses in human brain with array tomography and electron microscopy
Postmortem studies of synapses in human brain are problematic due to the axial resolution limit of light microscopy and the difficulty preserving and analyzing ultrastructure with electron microscopy. Array tomography overcomes these problems by embedding autopsy tissue in resin and cutting ribbons of ultrathin serial sections. Ribbons are imaged with immunofluorescence, allowing high-throughput imaging of tens of thousands of synapses to assess synapse density and protein composition. The protocol takes approximately 3 days per case, excluding image analysis, which is done at the end of the study. Parallel processing for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) using a protocol modified to preserve structure in human samples allows complimentary ultrastructural studies. Incorporation of array tomography and TEM into brain banking is a potent way of phenotyping synapses in well-characterized clinical cohorts to develop clinico-pathological correlations at the synapse level. This will be important for research in neurodegenerative disease, developmental diseases, and psychiatric illness
Imagining the Lives of Others: Empathy in Public Relations
This paper asks how we might theorise empathy in public relations (PR) in the light of a widespread βturnβ towards emotion in the academy, as well as in popular discourse. Two distinct notions of empathy are explored: βtrueβempathy as discussed in intercultural communication, is driven by a human concern for the other in order to understand experiences, feelings and situations that may be different from our own; whereas βinstrumentalβ empathy, reflecting a self orientation, is said to characterise much neoliberal market discourse in which corporations are urged to understand their customers better. Thus, while empathy may seem highly desirable as a means to enter into dialogue with an organisationβs publics, particularly during times of social upheaval and crisis, it is important to pay attention to empathy in public relations discourses including whose goals are served by empathetic engagement; and the type(s) of empathy called upon within a PR context. A literature review identified a socio-cultural definition of empathy as βimaginary effortβ. A review of the public relations literature, however, found that while empathy is considered an important principle and personal attribute, notions of empathy, with a few exceptions, are under-explored. Nonfunctionalist, socio-cultural research which examines the meanings that practitioners associate with empathy is distinctly lacking; therefore in order to gain further insight into empathy, two sources of data were explored. The analysis of a popular online practitioner blog showed that other-centred empathic skill is discursively framed as instrumental in achieving clientsβ business objectives. The analysis of three empathy statements drawn from 12 in-depth interviews with practitioners revealed complex empathic discourse in practitioner-client relationships. While the findings are limited to illustrative analyses only, this paper challenges researchers to develop conceptualisations and perspectives of empathy as imaginary effort in public relations
\u3cem\u3eABCC9\u3c/em\u3e Gene Polymorphism Is Associated with Hippocampal Sclerosis of Aging Pathology
Hippocampal sclerosis of aging (HS-Aging) is a high-morbidity brain disease in the elderly but risk factors are largely unknown. We report the first genome-wide association study (GWAS) with HS-Aging pathology as an endophenotype. In collaboration with the Alzheimer\u27s Disease Genetics Consortium, data were analyzed from large autopsy cohorts: (#1) National Alzheimer\u27s Coordinating Center (NACC); (#2) Rush University Religious Orders Study and Memory and Aging Project; (#3) Group Health Research Institute Adult Changes in Thought study; (#4) University of California at Irvine 90+ Study; and (#5) University of Kentucky Alzheimer\u27s Disease Center. Altogether, 363 HS-Aging cases and 2,303 controls, all pathologically confirmed, provided statistical power to test for risk alleles with large effect size. A two-tier study design included GWAS from cohorts #1-3 (Stage I) to identify promising SNP candidates, followed by focused evaluation of particular SNPs in cohorts #4-5 (Stage II). Polymorphism in the ATP-binding cassette, sub-family C member 9 (ABCC9) gene, also known as sulfonylurea receptor 2, was associated with HS-Aging pathology. In the meta-analyzed Stage I GWAS, ABCC9 polymorphisms yielded the lowest p values, and factoring in the Stage II results, the meta-analyzed risk SNP (rs704178:G) attained genome-wide statistical significance (p = 1.4 Γ 10-9), with odds ratio (OR) of 2.13 (recessive mode of inheritance). For SNPs previously linked to hippocampal sclerosis, meta-analyses of Stage I results show OR = 1.16 for rs5848 (GRN) and OR = 1.22 rs1990622 (TMEM106B), with the risk alleles as previously described. Sulfonylureas, a widely prescribed drug class used to treat diabetes, also modify human ABCC9 protein function. A subsample of patients from the NACC database (n = 624) were identified who were older than age 85 at death with known drug history. Controlling for important confounders such as diabetes itself, exposure to a sulfonylurea drug was associated with risk for HS-Aging pathology (p = 0.03). Thus, we describe a novel and targetable dementia risk factor
βAt βAmen Mealsβ Itβs Me and Godβ Religion and Gender: A New Jewish Womenβs Ritual
New ritual practices performed by Jewish women can serve as test cases for an examination of the phenomenon of the creation of religious rituals by women. These food-related rituals, which have been termed ββamen mealsββ were developed in Israel beginning in the year 2000 and subsequently spread to Jewish women in Europe and the United States. This study employs a qualitative-ethnographic methodology grounded in participant-observation and in-depth interviews to describe these nonobligatory, extra-halakhic rituals. What makes these rituals stand out is the womenβs sense that through these rituals they experience a direct con- nection to God and, thus, can change reality, i.e., bring about jobs, marriages, children, health, and salvation for friends and loved ones. The ββamenββ rituals also create an open, inclusive womanβs space imbued with strong spiritualβemotional energies that counter the womenβs religious marginality. Finally, the purposes and functions of these rituals, including identity building and displays of cultural capital, are considered within a theoretical framework that views ββdoing genderββ and ββdoing religionββ as an integrated experience
MicroRNA Dysregulation in the Spinal Cord following Traumatic Injury
Spinal cord injury (SCI) triggers a multitude of pathophysiological events that are tightly regulated by the expression levels of specific genes. Recent studies suggest that changes in gene expression following neural injury can result from the dysregulation of microRNAs, short non-coding RNA molecules that repress the translation of target mRNA. To understand the mechanisms underlying gene alterations following SCI, we analyzed the microRNA expression patterns at different time points following rat spinal cord injury
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