The effects of the structure of local government on crime

It is the intention of this thesis to review the role of municipal government in Cape Town as a local planner - and as such as an agency entrusted with the welfare of its inhabitants - in terms of the general governing processes existent in South Africa. That is to say, in terms of the position it occupies in the infrastructure of government in the country, and its relationship and interactions with other levels of the governing pyramid. As a corollary of this, an attempt will be made to ascertain and measure the effectiveness of local government (in terms of its stated objectives), and relate such inadequacies as are found to be existent, to insufficiencies in the powers assigned to local bodies. The study itself is in five parts: - Part 1: A review of the early history of local government in England (the forerunner of the present South African system), and the development of general objectives. The identification of key objectives in local governments throughout the world today. A review of the early history of local government in South Africa traced through until the present, outlining its position and function in the governing process. Part 2: An analysis of local government in South Africa is represented in terms of the three basic objective identified in part 1. These are: 1) Local representation and participation. 2) Decentralised and effective administration, and as an outcome of these first two objectives, 3) provision for the welfare of the local population. Part 3: A brief review of social indicators was undertaken to attempt to quantify the effects of good or bad administration. Crime was chosen as an indicator of social malaise, and statistics cited to illustrate a deteriorating situation. Part 4: Case studies of three residential areas in Cape Town were undertaken to determine possible antecedents of crime. An attempt is made to relate the perpetuation of these antecedents to inadequate control at the local level brought about by a lack of power. Part 5: The final section establishes the importance of local government and concludes that a lack of administrative control at this level has inevitable consequences for social welfare standards. The section includes the proposal of various solutions for the restructuring of local authorities for the better administration of the metropolis. At the outset it must be emphasised that the investigation was undertaken without particular bias towards any specific form of local government. Nor was it felt that a high degree of local autonomy was a necessary prerequisite for successful government. What was intended however, was to establish the effectiveness of the system in the context of government in South Africa

Reciprocal inhibition between Pax7 and muscle regulatory factors modulates myogenic cell fate determination

Postnatal growth and regeneration of skeletal muscle requires a population of resident myogenic precursors named satellite cells. The transcription factor Pax7 is critical for satellite cell biogenesis and survival and has been also implicated in satellite cell self-renewal; however, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. Previously, we showed that Pax7 overexpression in adult primary myoblasts down-regulates MyoD and prevents myogenin induction, inhibiting myogenesis. We show that Pax7 prevents muscle differentiation independently of its transcriptional activity, affecting MyoD function. Conversely, myogenin directly affects Pax7 expression and may be critical for Pax7 down-regulation in differentiating cells. Our results provide evidence for a cross-inhibitory interaction between Pax7 and members of the muscle regulatory factor family. This could represent an additional mechanism for the control of satellite cell fate decisions resulting in proliferation, differentiation, and self-renewal, necessary for skeletal muscle maintenance and repair

Regulation of neuroD2 expression in mouse brain

AbstractThe basic helix–loop–helix (bHLH) transcription factor, neuroD2, induces neuronal differentiation and promotes neuronal survival. Reduced levels of neuroD2 were previously shown to cause motor deficits, ataxia, and seizure propensity. Because neuroD2 levels may be critical for brain function, we studied the regulation of neuroD2 gene in cell culture and transgenic mouse models. In transgenic mice, a 10-kb fragment of the neuroD2 promoter fully recapitulated the endogenous neuroD2 staining pattern. A 1-kb fragment of the neuroD2 promoter drove reporter gene expression in most, but not all neuroD2-positive neuronal populations. Mutation of two critical E-boxes, E4 and E5 (E4 and E5 situated 149 and 305 bp upstream of the transcriptional start site) eliminated gene expression. NeuroD2 expression was diminished in mice lacking neurogenin1 demonstrating that neurogenin1 regulates neuroD2 during murine brain development. These studies demonstrate that neuroD2 expression is highly dependent on bHLH-responsive E-boxes in the proximal promoter region, that additional distal regulatory elements are important for neuroD2 expression in a subset of cortical neurons, and that neurogenin1 regulates neuroD2 expression during mouse brain development

What young people want from health-related online resources: a focus group study

The growth of the Internet as an information source about health, particularly amongst young people, is well established. The aim of this study was to explore young people's perceptions and experiences of engaging with health-related online content, particularly through social media websites. Between February and July 2011 nine focus groups were facilitated across Scotland with young people aged between 14 and 18 years. Health-related user-generated content seems to be appreciated by young people as a useful, if not always trustworthy, source of accounts of other people's experiences. The reliability and quality of both user-generated content and official factual content about health appear to be concerns for young people, and they employ specialised strategies for negotiating both areas of the online environment. Young people's engagement with health online is a dynamic area for research. Their perceptions and experiences of health-related content seem based on their wider familiarity with the online environment and, as the online environment develops, so too do young people's strategies and conventions for accessing it

Stimulation of glucose uptake by insulin-like growth factor II in human muscle is not mediated by the insulin-like growth factor II/mannose 6-phosphate receptor.

Although the growth-promoting effects of insulin-like growth factor II (IGF-II) have been intensively studied, the acute actions of this hormone on glucose metabolism have been less well evaluated, especially in skeletal muscle ofhumans. We and other groups have shown that IGFs reduce glycaemic levels in humans and stimulate glucose uptake in rat muscle. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effect of IGF-II on glucose transport in muscle of normal and obese patients with and without non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), as well as to identify the receptor responsible for this action. 2- Deoxyglucose transport was determined in vitro using a muscle- fibre strip preparation. IGF-II binding and stimulation of glucose transport by IGF-II were investigated in biopsy material of rectus abdominus muscle taken from lean and obese patients and obese patients with NIDDM at the time of surgery. In the lean group, IGF-II (100 nM) stimulated glucose transport 2.1-fold, which was slightly less than stimulation by insulin (2.8-fold) at the same concentration. Binding of IGF-II was approx. 25 % of that of insulin at 1 nM concentrations of both hormones. Obesity with or without NIDDM significantly reduced IGF-II-stimulated glucose uptake compared with the lean group. In order to explore which receptor mediated the IGF-II effect, we compared glucose uptake induced by IGF-II and two IGF-II analogues: [Leu27]IGF-II, with high affinity for the IGF-II/Man 6-P receptor but markedly reduced affinity for the IGF-I and insulin receptors, and [Arg54,Arg55]IGF-II, with high affinity for the IGF-I and insulin receptors but no affinity for the IGF-II/Man 6-P receptor. The potency of [Arg54,Arg55]IGF-II was similar to that of IGF- II, whereas [Leu27]IGF-II had a very diminished effect. Results show that IGF-II is capable of stimulating muscle glucose uptake in lean but not in obese subjects and this effect seems not to be mediated via an IGF-II/Man 6-P receptor. Originally published Biochemical Journal, Vol. 300, Pt. 3, June 199

Inspædia: [Almost] Everything About Simplicity, Playfulness and Inspiration

The aim of this paper is to disclose the new research developments and the results from the systematization of experience and user interaction with the Inspædia (a new web knowledge “Agora”), to inspire a dynamic, collaborative, and interactive intelligence among the inspædiers. We will explain in detail and describe the design process and discuss the ultimate design interaction concept & development regarding (almost everything about) simplicity and playfulness of the inspædiers’ experience to transform relevant information (related > meanfull > useful) in productive knowledge (inspiration > insight > foresight) in a very easy and quick way (usability: learnability; understandability; operability; attractiveness...), with a smile in the face (satisfaction) and a wow in the mind (or in the soul).Inspædia is the natural consequence and development of the prototype resulting from the research in Design PhD thesis Innovation, design et cetera (FA/UTL, 2012). Therefore, it is being developed with the Science Without Borders Program (2013-2016) with a Special Visiting Researcher fellowship grant of CAPES (Brazil), and under the post-doctoral in Design at the Faculty of Architecture, University of Lisbon (FA/UL); CIAUD – Reseach Centre of Architecture, Urbanism and Design (FA/UL); Faculty of Sciences and Technology, Nova University of Lisbon (FCT/UNL); NOVA-LINCS (FCT/UNL) and CITAD - Research Centre for Territory, Architecture and Design (FAA/ULL). The Inspædia research project was ranked in first place in Design scientific area and obtained a post-doctoral fellowship by FCT – Foundation for Science and Technology (Portugal). The project has been internationally disseminated at international Design conferences with indexed publications. It was presented and published both at AHFE 2014 (Krakow) and AHFE 2015 (Las Vegas). It was part of the biennial Experimentadesign tangential events in 2013 (EXD'13), 2015 (EXD'15) and was presented, by invitation, at the International Congress DESIGN I-CON (2015). During the last year we prototyped and tested (usability testing) with some inspædiers different approaches to achieve users’ needs > desires > expectations) in a challenging way, in order to provide the most powerful and memorable user experience

Networked learning, stepping beyond the net generation and digital natives

This chapter critically examines the idea that young people have undergone a change in which exposure to digital and networked technologies has caused a step change in the character of a whole generation. The empirical and theoretical basis for this argument is reviewed and critical theoretical perspectives are assessed. Evidence from earlier research is compared and contrasted with evidence gathered from students who are said to be part of the new generation. The chapter explores the consequences of these ideas from the standpoint of networked learning. One aim of the chapter is to suggest ways in which the changes that have taken can be more adequately theorized in relation to the idea of networked learning. Arguments used to support generational change rely on a technological determinism and alternative accounts understand young people as active agents. I suggest ex-panding the notion of the agent to include persons enacting roles in collective or-ganizations. Overall the importance of the debate is that determinist arguments can close down debate and networked learning would be impoverished if this occurs