Gender Differences in Sitting Positions of College Students and an Explanation of These Differences

This article explores the differences in the sitting positions of college men and women. After conducting unobtrusive observations of 83 students at the University of New Hampshire, we analyzed our data and found that there are differences in the way men and women sit. Men tend to sit in open positions while women tend to sit in closed positions. Differences in leg positions were more notable than differences in arm positions. In regard to arm and leg combinations, the most common combination for men was open arm/open leg. There were no significant differences between arm and leg combinations of women. We explain these differences using the theory of social construction and by pulling from various articles ideas of gender socialization. It is important to understand that gender differences in body movement and behavior are not natural. If we can recognize that these differences are learned, we can begin to eliminate gender inequality and stereotypes

Non-invasive screening for peripheral oxygenation dysfunction in healthy and pathological populations

Metabolic myopathies are diseases where muscle dysfunction acts as one of the major symptoms, usually caused by genetic defects or hormonal dysfunction. These myopathies comprise several subgroup diseases resulting from defects in biochemical energy metabolism. Mitochondrial Myopathy (MM) is one of these subgroups. Initial research to unravel underlying mechanisms started in the late 1980’s with the discovery of large scale mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations. During the past decades, the primordial focus was of course the severe phenotype of this disease, whereby less attention was given to mild types of this myopathy. An important symptom in this MM population is a disturbed peripheral oxygenation pattern at muscle level, resulting from mitochondrial malfunctioning. Interestingly, the last two decades, several studies have investigated muscle abnormalities in another patient population as well, i.e. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). This latter disease is based on exclusion criteria and requires four out of eight minor criteria for diagnosis. It is remarkable however, that muscle pain, post-exertional malaise, and muscle fatigue are included in these criteria. A number of papers have already focused on a putative disturbed peripheral oxygenation pattern in these CFS patients, however, with contrasting results. In this dissertation we aimed to focus on peripheral oxygenation in both patient and healthy populations. To investigate in particular how patients with a disturbed oxygenation pattern, probably due to mitochondrial malfunctioning, could be identified in a non-exhaustive and non-invasive way. Because both diseases are quite “young” and little is known about eventual mild phenotypes of mitochondrial myopathy, we wanted to make a contribution in this scientific area by developing a screening tool to identify such patients. In the first part of this dissertation, we aimed to present a short introduction about peripheral oxygenation in healthy subjects from a historical perspective. Consequently, in the second part of the introduction, a description of both MM and CFS diseases and their exercise tolerance spectrum is presented as well as peripheral oxygenation patterns in these patient populations

Resilience in adopted versus non-adopted college students

This study aims to investigate the levels of resilience in adopted versus non-adopted college students at Ball State University. Resilience is the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, stress, trauma, and tragedy (American Psychological Association, 2017). Previous research on resilience has relatively neglected college age students and there is conflicting evidence to suggest that adopted children and adults have lower levels of the components of resilience including lower self-confidence and self-esteem. The main purpose of this study will be to clarify the relationship between resilience and academic performance in adopted and nonadopted college students. In this study, adopted and non-adopted subjects will take a survey academic performance and resilience.Thesis (B.?)Honors Colleg

Convey Data in Qlik® Sense from a Universal Design Perspective

“The important criterion for a graph is not simply how fast we can see a result; rather it is whether through the use of the graph we can see something that would have been harder to see otherwise or that could not have been seen at all.” William S. Cleveland When presenting graphs for people with visual impairments the solutions found on the market today often present pure data values only. Overview is missing and there is no possibility to get any additional information about the visual content of the graph. Should we accept the fact that visually impaired persons are only presented with the data or could they actually benefit from data represented in graphical form? The aim of this project was to investigate how to provide people with visual impairments the best possible user experience when analyzing data in the business intelligence program Qlik Sense. The research showed that it is possible to convey an overview of the content in graphs with a synthetic speech solution. The synthetic speech presents the purpose of the graph and key values as well as the overall shape of the curve. In a future development it is possible to extend the product to include voice recognition to allow the user to explore the data and make own discoveries. The project begun with a literature study to find previously conducted work in the same field. To gather proper knowledge about what information users find interesting, what they are looking for and how they can benefit from using charts, a pilot study was initiated. The pilot study was performed by people who have vision classified as normal. Further, persons from the target group, i.e. people with visual impairments, were interviewed to receive an understanding of what is missing from today’s low vision aids and solutions. These results were used when creating a Low Fidelity prototype in an attempt to show how to present visual data to a visually impaired user. The prototype was tested on both sighted persons and persons from the target group. Results were then collected and analyzed to create a foundation for the High Fidelity (Hi-Fi) prototype that was developed to realize the design ideas. Finally, the Hi-Fi prototype was evaluated through usability tests that resulted in the above-mentioned conclusion.“Det viktigaste kriteriet för en graf är egentligen inte hur fort vi kan se ett resultat; det är snarare om vi genom användandet av en graf kan se något som hade varit svårare att se annars eller som inte hade alls kunnat ses." William S. Cleveland Översättning: Celie Gunnarsson De lösningar som finns på dagens marknad gällande presentation av grafer för synskadade bygger ofta på ren presentation av enskilda värden. Översikt saknas och det finns ingen möjlighet att få övrig information om det visuella innehållet i grafen. Ska man som synskadad nöja sig med att endast få ta del av datan eller ska man faktiskt kunna ha samma nytta av ett diagram som en seende person? Syftet med detta projekt var att undersöka hur man kan erbjuda personer med synnedsättning den bästa möjliga användarupplevelsen då de analyserar data i Business Intelligence-programmet Qlik Sense. Arbetet visade att det är möjligt att förmedla en överblick av en grafs innehåll med hjälp av syntetiskt tal. Det syntetiska talet kan då presentera grafens syfte, nyckeltal tillika formen på kurvan som bildas. Vid framtida utveckling är det möjligt att utöka produkten så att även röstigenkänning kan inkluderas. Detta skulle ge användaren en möjlighet att på egen hand utforska datan och göra egna upptäckter. Projektet inleddes med en litteraturstudie för att finna tidigare utfört arbete inom samma område. För att insamla kunskap om vilken information som upplevs som intressant, vad användare tittar efter och hur de kan ha nytta av grafer utfördes även en pilotstudie. Försökspersonerna i denna studie utgjordes av personer med syn klassificerad som normal. Vidare intervjuades personer ur målgruppen, det vill säga personer med olika typer av synnedsättning, för att skapa förståelse för vad som saknas i dagens hjälpmedel och lösningar. Dessa resultat användes för att skapa en Low Fidelityprototyp i ett försök att visa hur man skulle kunna presentera visuell data för en synskadad person. Prototypen testades sedan, både utav seende personer och personer från målgruppen, varefter resultatet sammanställdes och analyserades. Analysen användes för att skapa en grund till den High Fidelityprototyp (Hi Fi-prototyp) som kom att utvecklas ur designidéerna. Slutligen utvärderades Hi Fi-prototypen genom användbarhetstester, vilka resulterade i ovan nämnda slutsats

Taking Northern Queensland into Account: Another View of Australian Art

This paper seeks to bridge a gap in Australian art histories by examining the contribution of Northern Queensland to the Australian arts narrative. The story of the visual arts in Australia is often written from the perspective of the southern states, and the story of Queensland art is often written from the perspective of its capital, Brisbane. This is despite the early depiction of the rich flora and fauna of Far North Queensland recognised in early surveys. In examining the history of the arts from the north however, key themes emerge that characterise and challenge understandings of the visual arts in Queensland. By exploring the work of artist Clem Forbes (1938-1997) and sculptor Tom Risley (1947-2010) this paper suggests that the contribution made by artists living and working in Northern Queensland can throw light on what is distinct about the north as a vision of Australian art

Interrogating Households in Anticipation of Disasters: The Feminization of Preparedness

It is now a maxim among scholars and policy-makers alike that disaster preparedness needs to involve community-based approaches in order to be effective. These include preparedness strategies in the household. But how do disaster preparedness policies and public discourses define “the household” in the first place? In this article, we explore how particular gendered notions of the household are reproduced in disaster preparedness policies and activities in Japan and the UK. Drawing on historical and cross-cultural analyses, we suggest that household preparedness efforts place the burden of labor on people coded as women—a phenomenon we call “the feminization of preparedness.” Ultimately, we suggest that when disaster policies discuss “the household,” even if they do not explicitly mention gender, there might be a problematic responsibilization of preparedness on women. Calls for the inclusion of marginalized people into disaster preparedness efforts should also be aware of the possibility of overburdening one group over others

Being in Deep, Authentic, Dramatic Celebration: Narratives of Community Cultural Workers for Social Change

The common discourse in the field of education in the United States during the years 2002 through 2013 centered on the approach of making schools accountable for their students\u27 performance, while aiming to bring proficiency to all students regardless of their socio-economic background. Prior to this study, little research existed on cultural workers who teach, and their associated outcomes with marginalized populations of learners. To fill this gap in the research literature, this study explored the question: How do cultural workers define their work, and in what ways do they connect their stories to the current academic discourse on the purpose of education and gaps in our mainstream educational system? For the purposes of this study, cultural work based education may be defined as an educational initiative, project, or program whereby people who are involved in artistic and sovereignty endeavors practice spoken word poetry, circus arts, public mural arts, contemporary dance and choreography, or self-determination community organizing. My participant-narrators were eight cultural workers who taught in successful educational initiatives during the years 2002 through 2013. The term participant-narrator is used throughout this study because the participants fulfilled two specific roles: participants who contributed to this research, and narrators of their oral histories. I used a qualitative approach, most specifically oral history interviews as the methodology, and I conducted a four-step data collection process which included: a) conducting three face-to-face interviews; b) transcribing all interviews, c) participant-narrators reviewing all transcripts for accuracy, and d) revising all transcripts for exactness. This study\u27s findings revealed cultural workers: a) facilitate learning by intentionally demonstrating conscious care in their instruction; b) connect their stories to the current academic discourse on the purpose of education, and gaps in the mainstream educational system, through their popular education approach; and c) view their work as an active contribution to social change as an outcome to their way of viewing teaching as a process of being solution-bound. Consequently, this research provides potential insights into successful educational strategies with marginalized learner populations that may be successful in meeting achievement goals within mainstream educational K-12 settings

Loop B is a major structural component of the 5-HT3 receptor

The 5-HT3 receptor belongs to a family of therapeutically important neurotransmitter-gated receptors whose ligand binding sites are formed by the convergence of six peptide loops (A-F). Here we have mutated 15 amino acid residues in and around loop B of the 5-HT3 receptor (Ser-177 to Asn-191) to Ala or a residue with similar chemical properties. Changes in [3H]granisetron binding affinity (Kd) and 5-HT EC50 were determined using receptors expressed in human embryonic kidney 293 cells. Substitutions at all but one residue (Thr-181) altered or eliminated binding for one or both mutants. Receptors were nonfunctional or EC50 values were altered for all but two mutants (S182T, I190L). Homology modeling indicates that loop B contributes two residues to a hydrophobic core that faces into the β-sandwich of the subunit, and the experimental data indicate that they are important for both the structure and the function of the receptor. The models also show that close to the apex of the loop (Ser-182 to Ile-190), loop B residues form an extensive network of hydrogen bonds, both with other loop B residues and with adjacent regions of the protein. Overall, the data suggest that loop B has a major role in maintaining the structure of the region by a series of noncovalent interactions that are easily disrupted by amino acid substitutions