The ‘fair sex’ : skin colour, gender and narratives of embodied identity in eighteenth-century British non-fiction

During the eighteenth century the phrase ‘fair sex’ was a pervasive feature of contemporary writing intended for female consumption and texts that discussed issues concerning women. Even today, scholars still employ this expression to characterise experiences of femininity during this period. This article extrapolates the embodied meanings of ‘fair sex’ from a range of popular non-fictional printed discourses, including medical advice books, conduct literature, advice guides and cosmetic manuals. Specifically, it examines how, why and in what ways ‘fairness’ was conceptualised as a mutually reinforcing moral, physiological, aesthetic and social ideal for elite British women during the eighteenth century

Examining the Effect of Medical Risk, Parental Stress, and Self-Efficacy on Parent Behaviors and the Home Environment of Premature Children

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between medical risk and parenting stress and the extent to which parental self-efficacy moderates the relationship between medical risk, parenting stress, specific parenting behaviors (i.e., parental responsivity, acceptance of child, parental involvement) and the home environment (i.e., organization of environment, learning materials, variety in experience, and IT-HOME total score) of premature children. Participants included 72 parent-child dyads with premature children between the ages of 7 and 35 months corrected age. Measures included parent reports of medical risk, stress, self-efficacy, and the IT-HOME. Results show that medical risk was not significantly related to parenting stress. Analyses indicated that parental self-efficacy influenced the relationship between medical risk and acceptance of child and organization of the environment. Parental self-efficacy was also found to effect the relationship between parenting stress and variety in experience. Implications for early intervention service providers and NICU developmental follow-up programs will be discussed along with limitations and areas for future research. Advisor: Susan Sherida

The Development and Design of an Interactive Digital Training Resource for Personal Tutors

This chapter details the development and design of an interactive digital training resource for personal tutors in the Arts Faculty at the University of Warwick in 2018. The Arts Faculty Personal Tutor Training Resource aimed to enhance staff and student experiences of personal tutoring. The training was designed and delivered through the open-source learning design tool H5P within the University of Warwick's Virtual Learning Environment, Moodle. The training resource content is delivered through a mixture of text, images, videos and links to further resources which introduce learners to personal tutoring policies, structures, processes, support, and best practice. The resource also contains interactive activities that enable learners to condense their learning, reflect on their personal tutoring knowledge and practice, and see their progress as they move through the different stages of the training. The resource was designed to be interactive to make the content as engaging as possible for learners and to promote the retention of knowledge. It was also designed with different learners' levels of digital literacy and accessibility needs in mind. This chapter outlines the context of the training's development, and the pedagogic approaches, methods and principles that informed the learning design. It also provides an account of the design process and a description of the training content. This case study demonstrates the value of online training and resources for supporting personal tutors by showing the positive impact that the Arts Faculty Personal Tutoring Training Resource has on staff and student experiences of personal tutoring at the University of Warwick. It also shows that personal tutors welcome online training and resources, and that online training is often preferred to face-to-face training because it can be used and accessed according to the requirement of users at any time

The Influence of Matrix Stiffness on Extracellular Matrix Protein Expression in 3D Encapsulated Mammary Fibroblasts

A disease that transcends all races is breast cancer, the second leading cause of death among women with cancer. One factor, which participates in breast tumor progression, is the extracellular matrix (ECM), an acellular, protein-rich entity, which drives several cell, processes shown to promote tumorigenesis. Specifically, abnormal expression patterns and cross-linking of matrix fibers induces a more dense tissue structure, which has been reported to drive breast cancer progression. Alterations in ECM expression and cross-linking are in part due to carcinoma-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), activated fibroblasts which deposit copious ECM in the breast tumor environment. The goal of this study is to understand how ECM expression patterns change following culture of human mammary fibroblasts (HMFs) in mechanically tuned 3 dimensional gelatin hydrogels, a culture setup that better mimics the natural breast environment. Since matrix stiffness has been reported to drive the myofibroblast phenotype, it is anticipated that altered ECM expression and deposition patterns will accompany HMF culture in mechanically stiff gelatin hydrogels. To alter the stiffness of the gel, microbial transglutaminase, which cross-links lysine and glutamine residues in the gelatin matrix, will be employed and rheology will be subsequently utilized to determine the bulk mechanical stiffness of cross-linked gels. Three gels with various stiffnesses including compliant, moderate, and stiff will be utilized for encapsulation of HMFs. Viability assays, such as the Live/Dead assay, will be utilized to monitor cell viability over the 7-day culture period. To assess whether matrix stiffness induces unique patterns of matrix expression, we will evaluate ECM protein expression using western blot for the following ECM proteins: tenascin-C, fibronectin, laminin and collagens I, IV. In addition, immunofluorescence will be utilized to evaluate cellular deposition of ECM proteins in the gelatin hydrogel. Results from these assays will elucidate whether increasing matrix stiffness induces a more pronounced expression level of the aforementioned ECM proteins. Results from these studies may allow for future development of novel therapeutic agents targeted to the myofibroblast within the breast cancer microenvironment

Ethical dilemmas in college campus victim advocacy

Includes bibliographical references.2016 Summer.This dissertation examines ethical dilemmas in college campus victim advocacy. Dilemmas were identified by experts in the field of college campus victim advocacy. A Grounded Theory approach was used to identify categories of dilemmas, and interviews were conducted with experts in the field. Ultimately, dilemmas were identified that led to participants experiencing significant institutional trauma. These dilemmas related, not to working with individual survivors, but rather to working within broken systems and navigating complicated relationships with other professionals. Participants’ own and survivors’ identities were also explored, and ultimately also related back to systems and the “bad” professionals working within them. Based on these findings, implications for future research are discussed

The staff–student co-design of an online resource for pre-arrival arts and humanities students

Successful induction has been evidenced to strengthen students’ learning, engagement and feelings of belonging. Technology offers opportunities for enhancing the student induction experience, especially pre-arrival, but has been under-utilised. This article provides an evaluation of an online induction learning resource for pre-arrival students in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Warwick in 2019. There will be particular focus on the method of co-designing the resource with a group of current students. The article will demonstrate how online learning resources for pre-arrival students can support successful induction. It argues that co-designing digital student experience resources in collaboration with students aids the development of materials that students find engaging and that co-design has a range of benefits for staff and students who are involved in the process

Then & Now Arts at Warwick Student Project: Co-creation in the COVID-19 crisis

This article overviews the ‘Then &Now: Arts at Warwick’ student-led research and public engagement project that took place at the University of Warwick from January to August 2020. It discusses the methods of student co-creation and student-led research that underpinned the project and provides a detailed description of the pedagogic practices employed. The value and challenges of student co-creation are examined alongside the experience of managing a complex project in the crisis situation of COVID-19. The project’s impact in building learning community and enhancing the student academic experience is evaluated, and critical commentary is provided on some aspects of the project’s design. This article demonstrates the benefits of utilising digital technology for the facilitation of student co-creation in the arenas of research and public engagement, and for the development of learning that enables students to participate in ‘real life’ academic activities and shape the pedagogic approaches that are used in their teaching

Then & Now: Arts at Warwick Introduction

This introduction provides an overview of the Then &Now: Arts at Warwick special issue.It outlines the origins of the Then &Now project and how the issue was developed in collaboration between staff and students. To highlight the distinctive contributions of this issue to existing research on the history of Higher Education and the student experience, it also provides a brief summary of the historiography in this field

"New" and distributed leadership in quality and safety in healthcare, or "old" and hierarchical? : An interview study with strategic stakeholders

Peer reviewedPostprin

Do farmers adopt new management strategies developed by researchers? Do researchers communicate their results effectively?

Recent research in relation to herbicide resistance has focused on the science of herbicide resistance. From the knowledge gained, management strategies for herbicide resistance have been developed. Currently, in relation to herbicide management strategies, there is little documented knowledge of the rate and process by which farmers adopt such strategies. Few studies relate outcomes to a particular learning or communication process and the capacity of technical information to meet individual farmers’ needs for fine tuning and system management is not known. Understanding what is necessary for successful adoption is important for achieving on-farm management to contain or avoid herbicide resistance problems. This paper reviews existing knowledge on farmers’ processes when adopting new management strategies. This sets the scene for identifying future research priorities