Class Indifference - A Divided Nation : Finding Common Ground Through American Pragmatism and Democratic Principles in the Composition Classroom

Social class plays a significant but often silent part in American politics, lives, and education. As the events of Hurricane Katrina clearly illustrate, the poor and working class often suffer discrimination that leaves them completely powerless. Their position in life shapes not only how they are seen and treated, but also how they see their world. Their cultures differ markedly from middle and upper class cultures, further alienating them from possible greater personal achievement in a system that champions middle-class values. Education, being a microcosm of our society, mirrors our class conflicts, often failing to teach working-class students in an equal and fair manner, particularly in English composition courses. Increasing numbers of working-class students are attending college and with this large influx of often under-prepared students, educators must first understand the nature of class issues in America in order to more fairly address teaching these students. This paper addresses the undeniable connections between American history, politics, and education. It examines the cultural barriers that played a part in the Katrina disaster, drawing a parallel between the suffering of the New Orleans underprivileged and working- class and the widespread class issues that affect the entire nation. I offer an examination of class issues: what affects the individual working-class student’s ability to learn, teacher superiority based on social class, the need for educators to respect the values of their working-class students, and a call for more democratic and less authoritarian classrooms. I attempt to define the term “working-class” and discuss their distinct use of restricted language codes, which separates them from the middle-class who use elaborated codes, terms first coined by linguist Basil Bernstein. I discuss the difference in values between the classes and why this makes it difficult for working-class students to learn and achieve. A number of experts in the fields of linguistics, anthropology and psychology have studied class in America and I refer to these experts in my arguments. I further discuss the different methods of teaching, described as “inner-directed” and “outer-directed” language theories by Patricia Bizzell, and discuss the pros and cons of these methods. I argue for the need for democratic inclusion in the classroom, a principle more eloquently described by Paulo Freire, one of the leading educational theorists revered by so many of the other scholars referred to in this paper. To some extent, I discuss practical methods or approaches to be used in the college composition classroom to better educate the working-class, as well as discuss the faults I have seen in some of the current college composition classroom curriculum. Throughout the paper, I insist that a general philosophy of education must be implemented, rather than a piece-meal attack on social class through hit and miss efforts. American pragmatism, a distinctly American philosophy formed at the turn of the 20th century, promotes understanding for the purpose of enabling the individual and providing for the betterment of society. John Dewey applied the principles to education then, and a return to the basis of that humanistic, heuristic philosophy could ground our approaches to education, particularly higher education, so that we might more fairly and democratically teach working-class students in America

A discrete cluster of urinary biomarkers discriminates between active systemic lupus erythematosus patients with and without glomerulonephritis.

BackgroundManagement of lupus nephritis (LN) would be greatly aided by the discovery of biomarkers that accurately reflect changes in disease activity. Here, we used a proteomics approach to identify potential urinary biomarkers associated with LN.MethodsUrine was obtained from 60 LN patients with paired renal biopsies, 25 active non-LN SLE patients, and 24 healthy controls. Using Luminex, 128 analytes were quantified and normalized to urinary creatinine levels. Data were analyzed by linear modeling and non-parametric statistics, with corrections for multiple comparisons. A second cohort of 33 active LN, 16 active non-LN, and 30 remission LN SLE patients was used to validate the results.ResultsForty-four analytes were identified that were significantly increased in active LN as compared to active non-LN. This included a number of unique proteins (e.g., TIMP-1, PAI-1, PF4, vWF, and IL-15) as well as known candidate LN biomarkers (e.g., adiponectin, sVCAM-1, and IL-6), that differed markedly (>4-fold) between active LN and non-LN, all of which were confirmed in the validation cohort and normalized in remission LN patients. These proteins demonstrated an enhanced ability to discriminate between active LN and non-LN patients over several previously reported biomarkers. Ten proteins were found to significantly correlate with the activity score on renal biopsy, eight of which strongly discriminated between active proliferative and non-proliferative/chronic renal lesions.ConclusionsA number of promising urinary biomarkers that correlate with the presence of active renal disease and/or renal biopsy changes were identified and appear to outperform many of the existing proposed biomarkers

Understanding the factors that influence breast reconstruction decision making in Australian women

Background Breast reconstruction is safe and improves quality of life. Despite this, many women do not undergo breast reconstruction and the reasons for this are poorly understood. This study aims to identify the factors that influence a woman's decision whether or not to have breast reconstruction and to better understand their attitudes toward reconstruction. Methodology An online survey was distributed to breast cancer patients from Breast Cancer Network Australia. Results were tabulated, described qualitatively and analyzed for significance using a multiple logistic regression model. Results 501 mastectomy patients completed surveys, of which 62% had undergone breast reconstruction. Factors that positively influenced likelihood of reconstruction included lower age, bilateral mastectomy, access to private hospitals, decreased home/work responsibilities, increased level of home support and early discussion of reconstructive options. Most common reasons for avoiding reconstruction included “I don't feel the need” and “I don't want more surgery”. The most commonly sited sources of reconstruction information came from the breast surgeon followed by the plastic surgeon then the breast cancer nurse and the most influential of these was the plastic surgeon. Conclusions A model using factors easily obtained on clinical history can be used to understand likelihood of reconstruction. This knowledge may help identify barriers to reconstruction, ultimately improving the clinicians' ability to appropriately educate mastectomy patients and ensure effective decision making around breast reconstruction

(1173) Anchises - Thermophysical and Dynamical Studies of a Dynamically Unstable Jovian Trojan

We have performed detailed thermophysical and dynamical modelling of Jovian Trojan (1173) Anchises. Our results reveal a most unusual object. By examining observational data taken by IRAS, Akari and WISE between 11.5 and 60 microns, along with variations in its optical lightcurve, we find Anchises is most likely an elongated body, with an axes-ratio of ~1.4. This yields calculated best-fit dimensions of 170x121x121km (an equivalent diameter of 136+18/-11km). We find the observations are best fit by Anchises having a retrograde sense of rotation, and an unusually high thermal inertia (25 to 100 Jm-2s-0.5K-1). The geometric albedo is found to be 0.027 (+0.006/-0.007). Anchises therefore has one of the highest published thermal inertias of any object larger than 100km in diameter, at such large heliocentric distances, and is one of the lowest albedo objects ever observed. More observations are needed to see if there is a link between the very shallow phase curve, with almost no opposition effect, and the derived thermal properties for this large Trojan asteroid. Our dynamical investigation of Anchises' orbit has revealed it to be dynamically unstable on timescales of hundreds of Myr, similar to the unstable Neptunian Trojans 2001 QR322 and 2008 LC18. Unlike those objects, we find that Anchises' dynamical stability is not a function of its initial orbital elements, the result of the exceptional precision with which its orbit is known. This is the first time that a Jovian Trojan has been shown to be dynamically unstable, and adds weight to the idea that planetary Trojans represent a significant ongoing contribution to the Centaur population, the parents of the short-period comets. The observed instability does not rule out a primordial origin for Anchises, but when taken in concert with the result of our thermophysical analysis, suggest that it would be a fascinating target for future study.Comment: 5 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Societ

The quantum efficiency and diffractive image artifacts of Si:As IBC mid-IR detector arrays at 5 −- 10 μ\mum: Implications for the JWST/MIRI detectors

Arsenic doped back illuminated blocked impurity band (BIBIB) silicon detectors have advanced near and mid-IR astronomy for over thirty years; they have high quantum efficiency (QE), especially at wavelengths longer than 10 $\mu$m, and a large spectral range. Their radiation hardness is also an asset for space based instruments. Three examples of Si:As BIBIB arrays are used in the Mid-InfraRed Instrument (MIRI) of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), observing between 5 and 28 $\mu$m. In this paper, we analyze the parameters leading to high quantum efficiency (up to $\sim$ 60\%) for the MIRI devices between 5 and 10 $\mu$m. We also model the cross-shaped artifact that was first noticed in the 5.7 and 7.8 $\mu$m Spitzer/IRAC images and has since also been imaged at shorter wavelength ($\le 10~\mu$m) laboratory tests of the MIRI detectors. The artifact is a result of internal reflective diffraction off the pixel-defining metallic contacts to the readout detector circuit. The low absorption in the arrays at the shorter wavelengths enables photons diffracted to wide angles to cross the detectors and substrates multiple times. This is related to similar behavior in other back illuminated solid-state detectors with poor absorption, such as conventional CCDs operating near 1 $\mu$m. We investigate the properties of the artifact and its dependence on the detector architecture with a quantum-electrodynamic (QED) model of the probabilities of various photon paths. Knowledge of the artifact properties will be especially important for observations with the MIRI LRS and MRS spectroscopic modes.Comment: 17 pages, 15 figures, accepted for publication in PAS

So Far So Good: Building the Evidence Base to Promote a Successful Future for the Curriculum for Wales

This Executive Summary presents high level messages which emerge from the analysis and synthesis of the findings of surveys and interviews with members of every Area of Learning Experience Group (Section 1) and interviews with senior policy makers (Section 2). Section 3 of this report (using evidence to promote a Successful Future for the Curriculum for Wales) provides more detail on ideas that are important for The Curriculum for Wales to be successful in future. In the spirit of co-construction, all readers are invited to consider this Section 3 and to discuss within their own communities possible implications for sustainable long term change: • what contributions they might make to ensure that currently successful aspects within an existing programme are sustained and • how participants might work collaboratively to address areas likely to raise the level of risk to programme success. Findings The worldwide COVID pandemic has resulted in unprecedented levels of change in education systems internationally. However, the purposes-led approach that Curriculum for Wales seeks to build has never seemed more relevant. These purposes are relevant not only for learners but for everyone involved in the Curriculum for Wales. Building a successful future for a Curriculum for Wales: so far so good • There is much that is positive in the findings that emerge from this report. • There remains strong commitment to critical engagement with Curriculum for Wales amongst all communities What is it crucial to sustain in the next phase of development? • A clear focus on the purposes • The use of evidence from policy, practice and research to inform thinking • A focus on learning with curriculum, pedagogy and assessment promoting and supporting progression in learning • All programme participants as learners • Co-construction and subsidiarity as the modus operandi of Curriculum for Wales. What might need further thinking or greater emphasis? The authors of this report acknowledge that the research focus may have led to a concentration on particular aspects of the programme. However, six themes emerged for either further thinking or greater emphasis • Shared understanding of key ideas • Progression • Assessment • Co-construction and subsidiarity • Coherence, policy and systemic integrity • Professional learning. Given its potential impact on education in Wales, it can be argued that the Curriculum for Wales represents exceptional value for money

Placental glucocorticoid receptor isoforms in a sheep model of maternal allergic asthma

Maternal asthma increases the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes and may affect fetal growth and placental function by differential effects on the expression of glucocorticoid receptor (GR) isoforms, leading to altered glucocorticoid signalling. Our aim was to examine the effect of maternal asthma on placental GR profiles using a pregnant sheep model of asthma. Nine known GR isoforms were detected. There was a significant increase in the expression of placental GR isoforms that are known to have low trans-activational activity in other species including GR A, GR P and GRγ which may result in a pro-inflammatory environment in the presence of allergic asthma

A Protective Role for Complement C3 Protein during Pandemic 2009 H1N1 and H5N1 Influenza A Virus Infection

Highly pathogenic H5N1 influenza infections are associated with enhanced inflammatory and cytokine responses, severe lung damage, and an overall dysregulation of innate immunity. C3, a member of the complement system of serum proteins, is a major component of the innate immune and inflammatory responses. However, the role of this protein in the pathogenesis of H5N1 infection is unknown. Here we demonstrate that H5N1 influenza virus infected mice had increased levels of C5a and C3 activation byproducts as compared to mice infected with either seasonal or pandemic 2009 H1N1 influenza viruses. We hypothesized that the increased complement was associated with the enhanced disease associated with the H5N1 infection. However, studies in knockout mice demonstrated that C3 was required for protection from influenza infection, proper viral clearance, and associated with changes in cellular infiltration. These studies suggest that although the levels of complement activation may differ depending on the influenza virus subtype, complement is an important host defense mechanism

Cancer diagnosis as discursive capture: Phenomenological repercussions of being positioned within dominant constructions of cancer

This paper is concerned with the phenomenological repercussions of being positioned within widely available discursive constructions of cancer. One of the many challenges of being diagnosed with cancer is that it requires the person to make sense of the diagnosis and to find meaning in their changed circumstances. From a social constructionist point of view, such meaning is made out of discursive resources which are available within one’s culture. This paper critically reviews some of the dominant discourses surrounding cancer which are available within English-speaking Western industrialized cultures. It maps out the discursive positions available to those diagnosed with cancer and it traces some of their implications for how cancer may be experienced and how it may be lived with. As such, this paper is concerned with the social and psychological consequences of being positioned within dominant cancer discourses

So Far So Good: Building the Evidence Base to Promote a Successful Future for the Curriculum for Wales

This Executive Summary presents high level messages which emerge from the analysis and synthesis of the findings of surveys and interviews with members of every Area of Learning Experience Group (Section 1) and interviews with senior policy makers (Section 2). Section 3 of this report (using evidence to promote a Successful Future for the Curriculum for Wales) provides more detail on ideas that are important for The Curriculum for Wales to be successful in future. In the spirit of co-construction, all readers are invited to consider this Section 3 and to discuss within their own communities possible implications for sustainable long term change: • What contributions they might make to ensure that currently successful aspects within an existing programme are sustained and • How participants might work collaboratively to address areas likely to raise the level of risk to programme success