Leadership and the ATHE

In today’s increasingly globalized, competitive, and fiscally-afflicted, higher-education environment, academic leaders are regularly expected to serve as both “visionaries” and “managers” adept in all forms of political, economic, and social engagement. Likewise, performing arts leaders share a similar fate, as they need to be versatile tacticians skilled equally in both business and art. Given these realities, for higher education performing arts programs, the challenges are greater. These programs — and their parent institutions — require leadership and leaders capable of handling both immediate complexity and long-term transformation. As such, leadership development critical to this mission is a priority. This article explores the intricacies of higher education and the performing arts, and discusses the correlative characteristics of leadership, management, mentoring, coaching, and networking. Additionally, it provides in-depth description and critical analysis of the Association for Theatre in Higher Education Leadership Institute — as the institute is a unique leadership initiative specifically designed to address this enigmatic niche subset of higher education

INHERITED DELETION AT DUCHENNE DYSTROPHY LOCUS IN NORMAL MALE

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/28022/1/0000458.pd

Social Constructivism in Online Learning: Andragogical Influence and the Effectual Educator

Today's educational landscape is changing swiftly. Technology is steadily improving, and the demands of the modern workforce weigh heavily on both businesses and the individuals within; and so, it is imperative that higher education keeps pace accordingly. As adult learners return to school in record numbers, online (distance) learning has become a prevalent staple of academia. As a result, the learning models and teaching methods applied in online courses have arisen as a contentious source of debate. Research and expert opinion often point to constructivism - more specifically, social constructivism - as the preferred delivery mode for online learning and adult education (andragogy). However, latent ideologies and assumptions of both constructivism and andragogy, coupled with technology's overwhelming influence on contemporary education, leave the door open for continued argument regarding its impact on both the student and the teacher. Consequently, this raises several critical questions. First, what exactly are constructivism and social constructivism? Second, how does social constructivism work? Third, what roles do students, teachers, and technology play in the learning process? Lastly, how do the distinctions of andragogy affect social constructivism in online teaching

Long-term expression of a fluorescent reporter gene via direct injection of plasmid vector into mouse skeletal muscle: Comparison of human creatine kinase and CMV promoter expression levels in vivo

Expression of a fluorescent reporter gene has been studied using two alternate promoters to transcribe the green fluorescent protein gfp from Aequorea victoria. The human cytomegalovirus (CMV) enhancer/ promoter or the human muscle-specific creatine kinase promoter (CKM) were inserted along with the gfp cDNA into a plasmid expression vector based on a modified adenoassociated virus genome. Naked plasmid DNA was injected into the hamstring muscle of mdx mice and gfp gene expression determined from frozen muscle sections taken at 4, 14, and 42 days postinjection. Fluorescence patterns obtained by photomicroscopy and quantitative fluorescence measurements indicated a near-linear increase in the accumulation of the gfp in skeletal muscle during the length of the study, with gfp expression at 42 days being roughly four times the values obtained at 4 days. The levels of expression of gfp from the CKM construct were consistantly higher than for the CMV construct. The CKM promoter/expression vector combination demonstrates significant potential for simple, direct delivery and long-term, high-level expression of genes in skeletal muscle