67 research outputs found

    The Revival of Athlete Activism(s): Divergent Black Politics in the 2016 Presidential Election Engagements of LeBron James and Colin Kaepernick

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    In the fall of 2016, LeBron James and Colin Kaepernick stood as two of the most visible figures in the recent revival of Black sport-activism. It is perhaps inevitable, then, that both men engaged in that season’s Presidential contest between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. However, they did so in disparate ways. James aligned himself with Clinton, publicly endorsing the Democratic candidate through an optimistic worldview in which benevolent social leadership paved the way toward lessened inequality, racial or otherwise. On the other hand, Kaepernick rejected both candidates as representatives of institutional oppression, instead favoring grassroots, community-based resistance. When placed in historical context, their actions reflect deep strands in the history of Black politics, particularly the distinct but overlapping ideologies of liberalism and radicalism. Through a study of their engagement with Presidential politics, it is demonstrated that contemporary sport activism, or what may be described as a network of interconnected “activisms,” echoes both the shared ideology and internal nuance present in Leftist Black politics for over a century

    Intimate Collisions: Identity, Community, and Place in the Kansas Dirt-Track Auto Racing Sphere

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    Dirt-track auto racing, spread across the U.S. and concentrated in the nation’s Heartland, is largely unexplored territory within the cultural studies field. In turn, this project addresses contemporary Kansas-centered auto racing as a cultural sphere composed of spaces, objects, and practices derived from the “action” on the dirt oval. Participant-observation ethnography comprised the bulk of research, conducted over three years in garages, museums, and other spaces in which racing-related practice took place. Research and analysis were driven by an identity-based inquiry: How do participants construct senses of self in relation to the Kansas dirt-track racing community? On one hand, I trace processes of reproduction within the racing sphere. Identity ideologies and organizations have long reflected male dominance of competitive spaces, as well as the ubiquity of Whiteness among participants in general. Gendered organization appeared to result, in part, from the patrilineal routes through which men socialized boys into mechanical and operational familiarity with race cars. As a result, locally hegemonic masculinity was constructed around automotive-mechanical competency, competitiveness, and “rugged” engagement with speed and objects that threaten bodily harm. On the other hand, I address the ways in which racing practice entails reformulations of dominant cultural structures. When articulating the appeal of dirt-track racing, participants emphasized variety and disruption, especially in regards to “exciting” on-track “action,” which was contrasted against the mass culture of corporatized NASCAR. Furthermore, drivers embraced the opportunity to enact industrial productivity through their small-group racing operations; in doing so, they exercised power and sovereignty not typically present in their predominantly working-class occupations. As a whole, contextualized within a culturally shifting Kansas, participants converged within the racing sphere to find a sense of localistic community, thus engaging in “intimate collisions” both on and around the track

    The DIP-approach:Student-staff partnerships as a vital tool for learning developers and educators to develop academic [and digital] literacies

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    Student-staff partnerships can be used to support the development of contextualised digital learning and teaching practices. This can be done by shifting the focus from IT skills to addressing a priority in learning and teaching using a digital approach that is appropriate for that discipline. The development of a formal ‘Digital Innovation Partnership’ (DIP) scheme at the University of Leicester brings students’ digital confidence, perspectives and motivation to enhance learning and teaching. It also recognises the valuable contribution and expertise of student and staff participants. This draws on the academic literacies work of Lea and Street (1998; 2006) and digital literacies work of Sharpe and Beetham (2010) to appreciate that staff and students are developing social practices that are situated within a discipline and intertwined with social, cultural and political factors, power and identity. The reasons for the success of the scheme are explored here, with recommendations for how the model can be applied more generally to educational design to support students’ academic literacies development

    3-D Photoionization Structure and Distances of Planetary Nebulae II. Menzel 1

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    We present the results of a spatio-kinematic study of the planetary nebula Menzel 1 using spectro-photometric mapping and a 3-D photoionization code. We create several 2-D emission line images from our long-slit spectra, and use these to derive the line fluxes for 15 lines, the Halpha/Hbeta extinction map, and the [SII] line ratio density map of the nebula. We use our photoionization code constrained by these data to derive the three-dimensional nebular structure and ionizing star parameters of Menzel 1 by simultaneously fitting the integrated line intensities, the density map, and the observed morphologies in several lines, as well as the velocity structure. Using theoretical evolutionary tracks of intermediate and low mass stars, we derive a mass for the central star of 0.63+-0.05 Msolar. We also derive a distance of 1050+_150 pc to Menzel 1.Comment: To be published in ApJ of 10th February 2005. 12 figure

    Moyo Vol. X N 2

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    Million, Chris. Editor\u27s Letter . 4. Kaczur, Erin. Why It Sucks to be Human: I Would Like to Change My Casing, Not My Underwear . 5. Dunson, Jim and Tom Hankinson. MoYummy: Our Staff Connoisseurs Hit the Spots That Hit the Spot . 6. Fisher, Dan. Happy, O Monk, Is Thy Shadow! A No Pluses, No Minuses Memory of a Spiritual Friend . 10. Reuss, Liz. Who is S/He? Leslie Feinberg Interview Inspires Introspection . 11. Marston, Jennifer. MoYo Millenium Picks: Ghandi Can Forget it . 12. Bungard, Chris. Pop The Cork on Ireland. Strictly No Drinking Stritly Ignored . 13. Wilson, Kalyn. Pagans in print: The Craft--So Much more Than Sabrina . 14. Mallinger, Adam. DU Press Release Revisited . 16. Zellner, Kelli. Denison University\u27s Campus Compact--Myth or Reality? DU\u27s Bubble, Burst . 17. Hankinson, Tom. Bureaucracy--Friend of the Common man. An Explication Rather Than an Expletive . 18. The TasyPaycheck. A Very Tasty Quiz: The Denison Social Hierarchy - Do You Cut it? 20. Mong, Derek. The Armpit Epiphany . 21. Curry, Kim. Hot Child in The City: An Unaccustomed look Back from a Big Apple Intern . 22. Million, Chris. Their Last Chance! 32. Kovach, Steve. Risk-y Business: Strategies for Getting More enjoyment Out of World Conquest . 34

    Isogenic Pairs of hiPSC-CMs with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy/LVNC-Associated ACTC1 E99K Mutation Unveil Differential Functional Deficits

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    Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a primary disorder of contractility in heart muscle. To gain mechanistic insight and guide pharmacological rescue, this study models HCM using isogenic pairs of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) carrying the E99K-ACTC1 cardiac actin mutation. In both 3D engineered heart tissues and 2D monolayers, arrhythmogenesis was evident in all E99K-ACTC1 hiPSC-CMs. Aberrant phenotypes were most common in hiPSC-CMs produced from the heterozygote father. Unexpectedly, pathological phenotypes were less evident in E99K-expressing hiPSC-CMs from the two sons. Mechanistic insight from Ca2+ handling expression studies prompted pharmacological rescue experiments, wherein dual dantroline/ranolazine treatment was most effective. Our data are consistent with E99K mutant protein being a central cause of HCM but the three-way interaction between the primary genetic lesion, background (epi)genetics, and donor patient age may influence the pathogenic phenotype. This illustrates the value of isogenic hiPSC-CMs in genotype-phenotype correlations

    Axial distribution of myosin binding protein-C is unaffected by mutations in human cardiac and skeletal muscle

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    Myosin binding protein-C (MyBP-C), a major thick filament associated sarcomeric protein, plays an important functional and structural role in regulating sarcomere assembly and crossbridge formation. Missing or aberrant MyBP-C proteins (both cardiac and skeletal) have been shown to cause both cardiac and skeletal myopathies, thereby emphasising its importance for the normal functioning of the sarcomere. Mutations in cardiac MyBP-C are a major cause of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), while mutations in skeletal MyBP-C have been implicated in a disease of skeletal muscle—distal arthrogryposis type 1 (DA-1). Here we report the first detailed electron microscopy studies on human cardiac and skeletal tissues carrying MyBP-C gene mutations, using samples obtained from HCM and DA-1 patients. We have used established image averaging methods to identify and study the axial distribution of MyBP-C on the thick filament by averaging profile plots of the A-band of the sarcomere from electron micrographs of human cardiac and skeletal myopathy specimens. Due to the difficulty of obtaining normal human tissue, we compared the distribution to the A-band structure in normal frog skeletal, rat cardiac muscle and in cardiac muscle of MyBP-C-deficient mice. Very similar overall profile averages were obtained from the C-zones in cardiac HCM samples and skeletal DA-1 samples with MyBP-C gene mutations, suggesting that mutations in MyBP-C do not alter its mean axial distribution along the thick filament

    Evaluating the clinical and cost effectiveness of a behaviour change intervention for lowering cardiovascular disease risk for people with severe mental illnesses in primary care (PRIMROSE study):study protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial

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    BACKGROUND: People with severe mental illnesses die up to 20 years earlier than the general population, with cardiovascular disease being the leading cause of death. National guidelines recommend that the physical care of people with severe mental illnesses should be the responsibility of primary care; however, little is known about effective interventions to lower cardiovascular disease risk in this population and setting. Following extensive peer review, funding was secured from the United Kingdom National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) to deliver the proposed study. The aim of the trial is to test the effectiveness of a behavioural intervention to lower cardiovascular disease risk in people with severe mental illnesses in United Kingdom General Practices. METHODS/DESIGN: The study is a cluster randomised controlled trial in 70 GP practices for people with severe mental illnesses, aged 30 to 75 years old, with elevated cardiovascular disease risk factors. The trial will compare the effectiveness of a behavioural intervention designed to lower cardiovascular disease risk and delivered by a practice nurse or healthcare assistant, with standard care offered in General Practice. A total of 350 people will be recruited and followed up at 6 and 12 months. The primary outcome is total cholesterol level at the 12-month follow-up and secondary outcomes include blood pressure, body mass index, waist circumference, smoking status, quality of life, adherence to treatments and services and behavioural measures for diet, physical activity and alcohol use. An economic evaluation will be carried out to determine the cost effectiveness of the intervention compared with standard care. DISCUSSION: The results of this pragmatic trial will provide evidence on the clinical and cost effectiveness of the intervention on lowering total cholesterol and addressing multiple cardiovascular disease risk factors in people with severe mental illnesses in GP Practices. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN13762819 . Date of Registration: 25 February 2013. Date and Version Number: 27 August 2014 Version 5
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