Assessing the Stability of Elite Political Culture: An Empirical Analysis of the Attitudes of Elected Officials in Canada

Do attitudes of Members of the 32nd and 40th parliament differ on issues of political ethics? Or have attitudes remained unchanged? Based on interviews of 44 members of the 40th parliament and 107 members of the 32nd parliament, this thesis explores attitude shifts across time. The study reveals that in the areas of conflict of interest and patronage attitudes have hardened. Members of Parliament (MPs) from the 40th parliament are more sensitive to these dimensions of political corruption as opposed to MPs from the 32nd parliament. For ethically charged scenarios dealing with gifts & gains and lying, MPs from the 40th parliament are more tolerant than MPs from the 32nd parliament. Finally, the thesis calls for future research on potential differences in opinions related to factors such as years of service, regionalism and the role of partisanship

Voter Turnout in Manitoba: An Ecological Analysis

This article treats Manitoba as a case study in the community-level factors influencing the rate of voter turnout. Combining data from Elections Manitoba and the Manitoba Bureau of Statistics, it consists of an ecological analysis of electoral participation among the province’s fifty-seven constituencies from 1999 to 2007. The study reveals that, while conventional variables like age and affluence play a role, the competitiveness of the constituency is by far the most important factor in determining a district’s rate of voter turnout. This finding required analysts to shift their focus to “competitiveness” as the dependent variable, which, in turn, revealed that the best predictor of a district’s competitiveness was how close the race was in the previous election. The centrality of competitiveness to voter turnout in Manitoba raises important challenges for election officials and reform advocates, as it adds a dynamic, contextual variable that is difficult to manipulate

02 Index - Digital Archive of Documents Pertaining To Texas Revolution of 1835, and Mexican-American War of 1846-1848

Collection index and description of each document, translation into English from the original document; finding aid.https://scholarworks.utrgv.edu/guerra/1001/thumbnail.jp

01 Indice - Archivo Digital De Documentos Sobre La Guerra De Texas, 1835, Y La Guerra México-Estados Unidos, 1846-1848

Collection index and description of each document.https://scholarworks.utrgv.edu/guerra/1000/thumbnail.jp

Dehydration-induced modulation of kappa-opioid inhibition of vasopressin neurone activity

Dehydration increases vasopressin (antidiuretic hormone) secretion from the posterior pituitary gland to reduce water loss in the urine. Vasopressin secretion is determined by action potential firing in vasopressin neurones, which can exhibit continuous, phasic (alternating periods of activity and silence), or irregular activity. Autocrine κ-opioid inhibition contributes to the generation of activity patterning of vasopressin neurones under basal conditions and so we used in vivo extracellular single unit recording to test the hypothesis that changes in autocrine κ-opioid inhibition drive changes in activity patterning of vasopressin neurones during dehydration. Dehydration increased the firing rate of rat vasopressin neurones displaying continuous activity (from 7.1 ± 0.5 to 9.0 ± 0.6 spikes s(−1)) and phasic activity (from 4.2 ± 0.7 to 7.8 ± 0.9 spikes s(−1)), but not those displaying irregular activity. The dehydration-induced increase in phasic activity was via an increase in intraburst firing rate. The selective κ-opioid receptor antagonist nor-binaltorphimine increased the firing rate of phasic neurones in non-dehydrated rats (from 3.4 ± 0.8 to 5.3 ± 0.6 spikes s(−1)) and dehydrated rats (from 6.4 ± 0.5 to 9.1 ± 1.2 spikes s(−1)), indicating that κ-opioid feedback inhibition of phasic bursts is maintained during dehydration. In a separate series of experiments, prodynorphin mRNA expression was increased in vasopressin neurones of hyperosmotic rats, compared to hypo-osmotic rats. Hence, it appears that dynorphin expression in vasopressin neurones undergoes dynamic changes in proportion to the required secretion of vasopressin so that, even under stimulated conditions, autocrine feedback inhibition of vasopressin neurones prevents over-excitation

The Impact of Enquiry-Based Learning on Academic Performance and Student Engagement

Previously, we reported qualitative findings showing that students who experienced a problem- or enquiry-based course (EBL) in a first-year seminar program had greater confidence in their academic abilities, were more engaged, and were better prepared for upper-year courses. In the current paper, we provide quantitative data to substantiate the students’ qualitative conclusions. We present results to show that these students do perform at a significantly higher level compared with members of the control group who did not experience an EBL course. Using survey data, we show that the EBL students shift the way they access information compared with peers: they preferentially use more sophisticated resources for research. At the same time, students report greater engagement in the community, and student engagement is known to contribute to increased academic performance.  Dans un article précédent, nous avons rapporté les résultats de nos analyses qualitatives, qui démontraient que les étudiants inscrits dans un programme de première année utilisant une méthode d’apprentissage par explication ou par l’action (enquiry-based learning ou EBL) avaient une plus grande confiance en leurs capacités scolaires, étaient plus engagés socialement et se sentaient mieux préparés pour les cours de niveau supérieur. Dans l’article qui suit, nous présentons des données quantitatives pour justifier les conclusions subjectives des étudiants. Nos données démontrent une performance nettement plus élevée de ces étudiants que ceux du groupe témoin, qui n’employaient pas la méthode d’apprentissage par l’action. Grâce aux données recueillies à même le sondage, nous démontrons que les étudiants du groupe dont l’apprentissage était basé sur l’action modifient la façon dont ils acquièrent l’information, contrairement aux étudiants du groupe contrôle. En effet, les étudiants du premier groupe préfèrent recourir à des ressources plus sophistiquées pour leurs recherches. Ils rapportent aussi une plus grande participation dans la collectivité, une activité qui contribue à améliorer la performance académique. Enfin, les auteurs suggèrent que l’expression « apprentissage par l’action » est plus appropriée pour décrire cette méthode d’apprentissage

RLN2 and its role in cancer

Deep insight on RLN2 and its role in cancer

RLN2 (relaxin 2)

Review on RLN2 (relaxin 2), with data on DNA, on the protein encoded, and where the gene is implicated