Human Capital Formation in Rural America: Differences between Rural and Urban High School Dropouts

Community/Rural/Urban Development, Labor and Human Capital,

Functional domains of the influenza A virus PB2 protein:identification of NP- and PB1-binding sites

AbstractInfluenza virus genomic RNA segments are packaged into ribonucleoprotein (RNP) structures by the PB1, PB2, and PA subunits of an RNA polymerase and a single-strand RNA-binding nucleoprotein (NP). Assembly and function of these ribonucleoproteins depend on a complex set of protein–protein and protein–RNA interactions. Here, we identify new functional domains of PB2. We show that PB2 contains two regions that bind NP and also identify a novel PB1 binding site. The regions of PB2 responsible for binding NP and PB1 show considerable overlap, and binding of NP to the PB2 fragments could be outcompeted by PB1. The binding domains of PB2 acted as trans-dominant inhibitors of viral gene expression, and consistent with the in vitro binding data, their inhibitory activity depended on the concentration of wild-type PB2, NP, and PB1. This provides evidence for functionally significant and potentially regulatory interactions between PB2 and NP

Encountering the Gospel Anew: Confirmation as Ecclesial, Personal, and Missional Practices

Given the challenges facing congregations and young people today, some church leaders are wondering if confirmation continues to have a role in discipling young people. Based on the findings from The Confirmation Project, this article asserts that confirmation is, in fact, uniquely positioned to be a vibrant ministry for young people to encounter the gospel anew when congregations integrate ecclesial, personal, and missional practices. Such an approach strengthens confirmands’ understanding of faith, deepens their experience with Christian community, and equips them to discern their call to join in God’s mission in the world

The Ecology of Vocation

Those who care about the future of the church have a vested interest in both the quantity and the quality of candidates preparing for ministry in this generation and into the next. And it is easy to see those pastors as the product of a series of independent and individualized decisions. A college student, for example, meets with her pastor to discuss her future. Or an engineer sits at the kitchen table with his wife asking if they have the money for him to quit his job and head off to seminary. The future of ministry does indeed depend on these decisions. But those decisions depend on something else. They depend on a system, a system of formal organizations and informal relationships. They depend on the system in just the same way that a flowering bush depends on the ecosystem of the meadow in which it grows

Leading in the Midst of Change: A Theologically Grounded, Theoretically Informed Hermeneutic of Change

This essay proposes a hermeneutic of change, grounded in theology and theory, which can inform church leaders’ strategic actions in the midst of change. Drawing from the work of practical theology, it looks at four vantage points proposed by Don Browning: descriptive, historical, systematic, and strategic. The descriptive view offers two insights: God is active and present in the midst of change and God’s people are simultaneously saints and sinners. The historical perspective points out that God has always been in the midst of change, but God’s love and promises for the world have not changed. Systematic theology fuses the descriptive and the historical in a thoughtfully crafted argument that seeks to be true across time and place. Finally, strategic theology offers leaders the tools to use languages, relationships, and practices in managing change

Strategic Adaptation in the Banking Industry: An Exploration of the Antecedents and Consequences of Strategic Change Following Deregulation.

This dissertation examined the antecedents and consequences of strategic change in the commercial banking industry between 1980 and 1987. Based on a review of the literature, a conceptual model was developed that predicted change would be influenced by two factors, adaptive forces and inertial forces. Adaptive forces include two factors that have been hypothesized to encourage change, prior performance and slack resources. Inertial forces include two factors sometimes thought to inhibit change, organizational size and age. Change outcomes were predicted to be influenced by degree of change and moderated by adaptive and inertial forces. Guided by previous theoretical and empirical research, cluster analysis was used to measure strategic change and degree of change. The conceptual model proved to be useful in understanding the relationship between certain firm level factors and the propensity of organizations to change strategies. Some evidence was found to support the notion that prior performance, slack resources, and age are all important antecedents to change. Specifically, declining performance and slack resources in the form of excess capital were found to encourage change as predicted. Contrary to predictions, age was found to be a positive force for change. Change was found to have positive consequences for the banks in this study; i.e. it was positively related to performance and survival. The relationship between change and performance became more clear when degree of change was considered. Those banks that underwent moderate levels of change outperformed those that did not change as well as those that underwent more drastic changes, suggesting a curvilinear relationship. Age and slack resources were found to moderate the change performance relationship as well. Specifically, for firms that changed strategies, age and slack resources in the form of liquidity were found to be negatively related to performance. The findings concerning slack were surprising, however, high levels of liquidity may suggest risk aversion on the part of banks. Overall, the findings provide some evidence to support the conceptual model and they lend credence to the major assumptions underlying the strategic management perspective

Vegetative λ DNA: III. Pulse-labeled Components

The structures of λ DNA labeled during short pulses of [^3H]thymine at various times after infection have been studied by ultracentrifugal analysis. Circular DNA's, both the supercoiled form and an open form, are the main DNA components synthesized in the first half of the latent period. The open circular form is the most rapidly synthesized and may be a precursor to the supercoiled DNA. During the later period of progeny DNA accumulation the open circular form and a heterogeneous, more rapidly sedimenting component(s) are synthesized during such pulses. These are apparently involved in the generation of the linear, viral DNA